INDIANAPOLIS -- Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter said Thursday it is "super important'' to him to be the No. 1 pick in April's NFL draft and that he is ready, willing and uniquely able to play on both sides of the ball in his professional career.
Simply labeled as "DB 15'' at the NFL scouting combine this week, the University of Colorado cornerback/wide receiver said the possibility of being the first overall pick has certainly crossed his mind.
"That's super important,'' Hunter said. "That was one of my dreams, to go No. 1.''
Hunter was a must-see performer as college football's most prominent and proficient two-way player in decades, especially this past season when he won college football's highest individual honor. On offense, Hunter had 92 catches for 1,152 yards and 14 touchdowns.
And on defense, he had 33 tackles, 4 interceptions, 10 pass breakups and a forced fumble. In Colorado's regular-season finale against Oklahoma State, Hunter became the only FBS player over the past 25 seasons with three scrimmage touchdowns and a defensive INT in a single game, per ESPN Research.
Hunter played 1,380 snaps overall in 12 games for Colorado this past season, including 670 on offense, 686 on defense and 24 on special teams. It was 382 more snaps than the next-most active player in the FBS and he topped 100 snaps in 10 of Colorado's 12 games.
Hunter also played 1,007 snaps for Colorado in the 2023 season. He said Thursday he was hopeful whichever team calls his name on the draft's opening night will allow him the chance to play on both sides of the ball.
"I've been doing it for a long time, so I feel like I can keep doing it,'' Hunter said. " ... That's not my job to figure it out. I'd like to play both. If they give me the opportunity to play both sides of the ball, I'll play both sides.''
Hunter, who has been grouped with the defensive backs at the combine for meetings, medical exams and team interviews, contended he is still "listed at both'' defensive back and wide receiver in Indianapolis. He also said some teams have already interviewed him at the combine as primarily a wide receiver and some teams have interviewed him primarily as a cornerback.
"Nobody has done it, but I feel like I put my body through a lot,'' Hunter said. "People don't get to see that part, what I do to my body to make sure I'm 100% for each game ... but I know I could do it ... because I've done it at the college level.''
Asked if he would push back if his future coaches in the NFL said he could play only offense or defense exclusively, Hunter added: "I would hope they would let me go out there and earn the other position.''
Many in the league have said the biggest issue for Hunter in the NFL in any attempt to play extensively on both sides of the ball would be managing his snap count in games as well as structuring practice time, and the wear and tear that comes with that in a 17-game season, as well as his schedule given offensive and defensive position groups meet separately during the same time periods in a day.
The league's Defensive Player of the Year -- Denver Broncos cornerback Pat Surtain II -- played 902 snaps in 16 games this past season after logging 1,106 snaps (17 games) in 2022 and 1,121 (17 games) in 2023. Those totals aren't far from the total snaps Hunter played in all phases in 2024.
Hunter said he has told teams he has a routine he follows in his preparation for games and in his recovery to continue to play offense and defense in the NFL.
"They say nobody has done it for real the way I do it,'' Hunter said. "I tell [teams] I'm just different. ... I didn't have no load management at Colorado, coach [Deion Sanders] would pretty much let me do what I felt was right for my body. I'm the only person that knows what's right for my body. ... I always woke up early to get to do what I needed to do.''
Hunter added Thursday he had not spoken much to Sanders, who was also Hunter's coach at Jackson State, in recent weeks because "he's been giving me my space and letting me go through this stuff by myself.''
Hunter has called his relationship with Sanders an "unbreakable father-son bond.''