Deion Sanders flips top recruit from FSU to Jackson State

Deion Sanders flips top recruit Travis Hunter from Florida State to Jackson State

Jackson State coach Deion Sanders promised to ‘shock the nation’ on signing day. And he did, snagging No. 1 recruit Travis Hunter from Florida State.

By Chuck SchilkenStaff Writer

Dec. 15, 2021 1:02 PM PT

Hours before the start of the early national signing period, Deion Sanders made a prediction.

“We’re going to shock the nation,” the Jackson State coach told Barstool Sports on Tuesday night.

He was correct.

Coach Prime snagged the top recruit in the country.

From his own alma mater.

Suwanee (Ga.) Collins Hill High cornerback Travis Hunter, ranked the nation’s No. 1 recruit by 247Sports.com, committed to Florida State in March 2020. But during his announcement ceremony Wednesday morning, Hunter tossed aside a Seminoles cap, as well as hats for Auburn and Georgia, then caught a Jackson State cap that had been thrown to him and placed it on his head.

Hunter later posted on Twitter to explain his decision to flip from Florida State — which plays in the NCAA’s Football Bowl Subdivision and has won three national titles, most recently in 2013 — to Jackson State — a historically Black college that plays in the lower tier Football Championship Subdivision.

“Sometimes we are called into a bigger future than the one we imagined for ourselves,” he wrote. “For me, that future is at Jackson State. Jerry Rice, Doug Williams and of course the legend, JSU’s own Walter Payton. Historically Black Colleges and Universities have a rich history in football. I want to be a part of that history and more, I want to be a part of that future.

“I am making this decision so that I can light the way for others, make it a little easier for the next player to recognize that HBCUs may be everything you want and more: an exciting college experience, a vital community and a life-changing place to play football.”

Sanders was a two-time All American cornerback at Florida State, winning the Jim Thorpe award for best defensive back in 1988. He had a Hall of Fame career in the NFL and became a popular TV analyst before taking the Jackson State job before the 2020 season.

Last month, Sanders guided the Tigers (11-1) to their first Southwestern Athletic Conference title since 2007 and was named the SWAC coach of the year.

Hunter told WXIA-TV in Atlanta that the opportunity to play for a football icon at an HBCU was too great to pass up.

“I got a one in lifetime chance to play for one of the greats,” he said. “I got a chance to make a change in history.”