NCAAF News: UCF HC makes forthright admission on Buffaloes' Travis Hunter and Deion, Shedeur Sanders

The Colorado Buffaloes have bounced back and look to make their presence felt in the Big 12 conference after a shaky start to the season. As the Buffaloes head to Orlando to face the UCF Knights, the latter’s head coach Gus Malzahn made an open admission on the biggest names at Boulder: Travis Hunter, Deion Sanders, and Shedeur Sanders.

The Buffaloes are coming off a morale-boosting triumph over the Baylor Bears, as the team rallied back late in the game and secured the win in overtime. As stars Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders made huge plays and led their team to victory, the UCF head coach has addressed the impact these two players have on the field and the game plan the Knights will rely on to contain them.

Hunter and Sanders are amongst the best QB-WR duos in college football, and their sole presence is enough to keep defensive coordinators up late. Ahead of a crucial matchup, Malzahn admitted the young stars’ potential.

“You look at their offense, they have playmakers,” Malzahn said, via Coloradoan. “I think it starts with their quarterback. He does a good job of throwing the ball vertically down the field and he can extend plays. He’s been very impressive throwing to his right and his left.“

Head coach Deion Sanders of the Colorado Buffaloes talks with quarterback Shedeur Sanders #2 during first half of the NCAAF game against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Mountain America Stadium on October 07, 2023 in Tempe, Arizona.

“You have to put pressure on him. There’s no doubt. When you let the guy sit back there and have time, he does a good job. Matter of fact, he does a pretty good job even when he doesn’t have time. He’ll hang in there, man. It’s impressive watching him on film. I think that’s going to be a real big key to the game. You can just tell he’s a veteran guy, he stays calm and you can tell he’s a smart guy, too.”

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Rival HC has high praise for Travis Hunter

Malzahn opened up on what he has seen from the two-way NCAA sensation Travis Hunter ahead of matchup with his UCF Knights.

“He’s the guy that sticks out. He’s an elite player. They try to get him the ball on offense, he does a good job in 1-on-1 situations and he’s electric when he has the ball in his hands. Defensively, he’s a confident guy and you can see, he made the play the other night in overtime that forced the fumble. He’s just an elite player and it’s really, really impressive to see what he’s doing playing that many snaps. Since I’ve been in college football, I’ve not seen it. He’s an elite player.”

Malzahn on Deion Sanders

The UCF head coach was not at a shortage of words when talking about fellow coach Deion Sanders ahead of the strategic battle taking place on September the 28th in Orlando.

“What I admire about him is that he does it his way. This is a deal where you look at college football as entertainment and the juice and attention he brings to our league I think is really good. He does it his way and I’m an old high school coach so I do it my way; I’m a little bit different, too. He has his team playing well and he’s doing a good job.”