At Collins Hill, they have stories and memories of Heisman favorite Travis Hunter

Collins Hill assistant coach Frontia Fountain knows Hunter as the young man who could be the first overall pick in the next NFL draft, but more as the one who threw the football with his daughter Peyton and the children on the Fountains’ street.

“He’s the kid that brings life,” Fountain told the AJC. “He’s always happy.”

There are reasons why any football fan would do well to get on the Hunter bandwagon. In his third college season, he is unlike anything the game has seen in a long time, maybe ever. A game-breaking receiver, Hunter also is an NFL-ready cornerback who is sixth in FBS in receiving yards per game (96.0) and tied for fifth in passes defended (15).

According to Colorado, he is the only known player in college football history with 50 receptions and multiple interceptions in back-to-back seasons. Pro Football Focus called him “arguably the greatest two-way player in the sport’s history.” He is the odds-on favorite to win the Heisman Trophy. He’s a football Shohei Ohtani.

But then there are the reasons that people at Collins Hill have for continuing to support this mold-breaking athlete since his graduation in December 2021. They knew Hunter when he was a teenager who liked peach ring gummies, stayed out of trouble and walked around with a toy stuffed wolf draped around his body, And for those of us who want to believe that a generational talent still can be down to earth, their reasons are fairly compelling, too.

“You care about every kid, but he’s always been special,” Childs said.

Credit: Photo courtesy of Frontia Fountain

Credit: Photo courtesy of Frontia Fountain

At Collins Hill, there was no shortage of jaw-dropping plays and moments, demonstrations of his unreal body control and coordination, explosiveness and energy level.

Before his freshman season, he showed up for the team’s conditioning test despite not having taken part in the summer workout program and fairly breezed through a set of timed 200-meter runs while others were gasping and throwing up.

“I knew right there,” said former Collins Hill coach Lenny Gregory, now the coach at Gordon Central High. “This kid’s going to be a big-time player.”

Missouri quarterback Sam Horn was Hunter’s teammate and himself a four-star prospect. He remembered a 7-on-7 drill in practice when Hunter, playing safety, was covering a horizontal route, leaving a post route down the middle of the field wide open. When Horn threw deep, he was certain Hunter had no chance to make a play. But, making up what Horn estimated to be about a 20-yard gap, Hunter sprinted to catch up with Horn’s target and then turned his body toward the line of scrimmage to make a one-handed interception.

“That was one of those things that I was, like, ‘... That was insane,’” Horn said. “I for sure thought, ‘Touchdown.’ Nope, not with him.”

Playing for the basketball team, Hunter once leaped so high to block a layup that he was called for goaltending, a stunning feat of elevation for an athlete who is listed at 6-foot-1. On a video of the play, Hunter’s knees appear about as high off the ground as a teammate’s shoulders.

“Out-of-the-world athleticism and quickness,” said East Hall High coach Joe Dix, who was Hunter’s coach at Collins Hill.

(An aside: It’s wild that not only did Collins Hill launch Hunter but also basketball legend Maya Moore, who won three national player-of-the-year awards at Connecticut before winning four WNBA titles and two Olympic gold medals. If such a combination isn’t unprecedented, it’s exceedingly rare.)

But his athletic ability was only part of his impact at Collins Hill and not why Childs, the assistant principal, said she calls him her godson and Fountain, his defensive backs coach, said he is like a nephew.

Hunter also was someone who took time to encourage freshman players and coach them up, not the normal activity for a player who at the time was the highest-rated prospect in the country.

“But he was always trying to show them how to do this and how to do that,” said Todd Wofford, who was Hunter’s receivers coach before moving on to coach at Meadowcreek High. “Like I said, he’s different.”

Gregory, his head coach, raved about Hunter’s leadership in practice. His energy and seriousness “made everybody want to be like him, to get to his level,” Gregory said. “He made everybody want to practice hard.”

To Horn, Hunter’s quarterback, he was someone who didn’t see himself as any better than his teammates.

“Definitely not,” Horn said. “He was just one of the dudes.”

Credit: Courtesy Heather Childs

Credit: Courtesy Heather Childs

Before Dix brought up the goaltended layup attempt — he contends the shot was still on the way up when Hunter blocked it and that the referee was just unaccustomed to such athletic ability — he told a favorite story about Hunter. On the same night that Hunter’s sophomore football season ended, he was on the phone with Dix asking what he needed to do to join with the basketball team the following morning.

Hunter also set the school record for most charges taken, an accomplishment that indicates team-first selflessness far more than outlier athletic ability.

“That was him,” Dix said. “That’s absolutely right. He did all of the little things that gave us a chance to win.”

It’s those memories, not the on-field exploits, that have made so many at Collins Hill thrilled for Hunter’s success. Hunter is a strong favorite to win the Heisman, which would make him the fifth player from a Georgia high school to win the award (George Rogers, Herschel Walker, Charlie Ward and Cam Newton).

“It makes me really happy because that’s what he’s always wanted,” Fountain said. “He’s always wanted to be the best.”

Dix and Fountain continue to regularly stay in touch with Hunter. He spoke with Gregory over the summer. Childs was among those at Collins Hill to receive a “save the date” notice from Hunter and his fiancée after their engagement.

Hunter may have his many football responsibilities on top of his classes, a YouTube channel that attracts hundreds of thousands of viewers, endorsement deals with Buffalo Wild Wings and United Airlines and a seemingly boundless future, but he hasn’t forgotten his roots.

“He’s the same guy,” Gregory said. “That guy’s not going to change. He’s a good dude.”