For all the remarkable things Travis Hunter did on Saturday, the most surprising may have been admitting that he felt fatigue.

During Colorado’s 28-9 win against rival Colorado State at Canvas Stadium in Fort Collins, Hunter chased down Rams running back Avery Morrow from behind early in the fourth quarter, tackling him short of the end zone after a 62-yard run.

Hunter then took himself out of the game. Was he injured?

“Oh I’m good. I was just a little tired,” he said with a smile.

Wait … Hunter getting tired? The most versatile and busiest player in college football has often said he doesn’t fatigue, but in that moment, he felt it.

“I got mad at him for getting out of the game, too,” quarterback Shedeur Sanders said with a laugh. “I said, ‘Bro, don’t ever do that again. Check in next time.’”

Hunter, a junior cornerback and receiver, could only laugh along with Sanders.

“That’s probably the first time I did that,” he said of taking himself out of a game. “That’s probably the first time, because normally when I run them down, I’ll be able to catch my breath and get back up. But that time, I was just, I don’t know what happened.”

Certainly Hunter can be excused for needing to catch his breath a bit, especially when he spends most game days taking everyone else’s breath away.

It’s way too early in the college football season for a legitimate discussion about contenders for the Heisman Trophy — the most prestigious honor in college football — but if Hunter continues his current pace, he’s going to be squarely in the mix. And, the stage will only get bigger as the Buffs (2-1) begin Big 12 Conference play when Baylor (2-1) comes to Boulder on Saturday (6 p.m., Fox). Against the Rams, Hunter matched his career high with 13 catches, while posting 100 yards and two touchdowns. He also recorded five tackles and an interception on defense. He played 123 of the 138 snaps from scrimmage.

“I feel good,” he said. “I’m about to go get an ice bath when I get back to the school. So I’ll be good.”

So far this season, he has played 388 snaps, including special teams. He played 1,102 snaps in nine games last year (122.4 per game). Prior to Hunter’s arrival at CU in 2023, the school record for most snaps played in a game was 114, by four different players during a 2015 game at UCLA (remarkably, all 114 snaps came on offense). Hunter has now broken that record eight times. He is also now the first player in CU history with four consecutive 100-yard receiving games.

Hunter’s performance against the Rams may have been his best as a Buff, but Sanders said the dynamic playmaker can be even better.

“Of course, yeah, of course,” Sanders aid. “There’s no question he can be even better. There’s no ceiling. That’s the thing, you all try to put ceiling on things, and we don’t really have no ceilings with anything in general.”

Head coach Deion Sanders agreed that Hunter hasn’t reached his peak.

“No,” he said. “Travis is phenomenal every … week in and week out.”

This particular week was meaningful to Hunter because he was unable to play the entirety of the Rocky Mountain Showdown in 2023. A late hit by CSU safety Henry Blackburn in last year’s game gave Hunter a lacerated liver, limited him to 64 scrimmage snaps that night and caused him to miss the next three games.

Playing the entire game on Saturday and having a big impact on the Buffs’ dominating victory, was a bit of redemption — even if he was humble about it.

“It meant a lot,” he said, “but like I said, the (offensive) line, they helped us out a lot. I mean, they came out ready to work, ready to play. All I had to do is do my job.”