One of the first things Jackson State football coach Deion Sanders told Travis Hunter when he started recruiting was that the five-star cornerback would play both offensively and defensively.
Hunter, the nation’s No. 1 prospect for the class of 2022, according to the 247Sports Composite, is listed as a cornerback by recruiting sites. More specifically, he has a rating of 0.9999, which has only been matched or surpassed by four players in the past ten years.
The 6-foot-1, 165-pound Hunter also has electric play capabilities at a wide receiver. He caught 76 passes for 1,128 yards and 10 touchdowns and helped Collins Hill (Suwanee, Georgia) win the Class AAAAAAA status title.
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That was despite missing five games due to an ankle injury. In full health in 2020, he caught 137 passes for 1,731 yards and 24 touchdowns.
With Hunter expected to contribute to Jackson State in multiple ways, here’s a look at 10 dominant college football players who excelled at playing both sides.
Jim Thorpea
School: Carlisle
Position: Run back, defensive back
Performance: The award for the best defensive defender in college football is named after Thorpe, who also scored 53 touchdowns in 43 games for Carlisle Indian Industrial School. Thorpe went on to have a 13-year professional football career, playing for several years in Major League Baseball and winning the pentathlon and decathlon in the 1912 Olympics, prompting the Associated Press to name him the greatest athlete of the half-century in 1950. .
Deion Sanders
School: State of Florida
Position: Defensive Back, Point Returner
Performance: A two-time consensus All-American selection at defensive backs, Sanders is also ninth all-time in career punt return yards with 1,426. He finished 8th in the Heisman voting in 1988. Notably, he took pictures as a receiver in the NFL, establishing himself as one of the greatest defensive backs of all time.
Charles Woodson
School: Michigan
Position: Defensive Back, Wide Receiver, Point Returner
Performance: Woodson defeated Peyton Manning for the 1997 Heisman Trophy as a cornerback. He is the only defensive player to win the award. He also caught 11 passes in 1997 for 231 yards and a pair of touchdowns when Michigan won the national title.
Fred Biletnikoff
School: Wide Receiver, Defensive Back
Position: State of Florida
Performance: The award for best receiver in FBS football is named for Biletnikoff, who led the nation in receiving yards (1,179) and receiving touchdowns (15) in 1964. He also played defensively and held the Florida State record for longest interception until Deion Sanders broke it in 1987.
Dick Butkus
School: Illinois
Position: Linebacker, offensive line
Performance: The award for the best linebacker in college football and high school football is named after Butkus, who has put together 374 tackles. The eight-time Pro Bowler was also a first-team All-American roster on the offensive line, playing center for the Illini.
Bronko Nagurskic
School: Minnesota
Position: Linebacker, fullback, offensive line
Performance: College football’s award for the nation’s best defensive player is named after Nagurski, who was an All-American at fullback and linebacker and led Minnesota to the 1929 Big Ten title.
Chuck Bednarik
School: Pennsylvania
Position: Linebacker, offensive line
Performance: The three-time All-American is considered the greatest center of all time. The award for the highest center in college football is named after Bednarik. He finished third in the 1948 Heisman voting. He played in the NFL as a linebacker and center.
Champ Bailey
School: Georgia
Position: Defensive Back, Wide Receiver, Kick Returner
Performance: A closed cornerback, Bailey won the Bronko Nagurski Trophy in 1998 for best defensive player in college football. He also made 47 catches for 744 yards and five touchdowns. Bailey went on to play in 12 Pro Bowls in the NFL.
Howard Cassady
School: Ohio state
Position: Run back, defensive back
Performance: The 1955 Heisman Trophy winner and two-time All-American is now sixth on the all-time list for all-purpose yards in the state of Ohio. He was also a standout defensive back for the Buckeyes.
Red Mansion
School: Illinois
Position: Run back, defensive back
Performance: Inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1951, Red Grange played only 20 college football games, racking up 3,362 yards and 31 touchdowns. He once scored four touchdowns in 12 minutes. He also played defensively, picking up two passes in a game.