Colorado head coach Deion Sanders warned NFL teams on Friday: Don’t draft Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter if you don’t let him play both ways.

Sanders said this on “The Rich Eisen Show” on Friday and also hinted that a contract extension is in the works that could keep him at Colorado long-term.

In Hunter’s case, Sanders even said that Hunter could take advantage of the fact that he could return to Colorado next season for another year of college football if NFL teams don’t give him assurances that he can play both cornerback and quarterback Receiver can play.

“He’s going to do that (play both ways), otherwise they shouldn’t recruit him,” Sanders told Eisen. “Don’t do that. And I will make sure of that. Don’t draft him if you don’t want to give him the opportunity to play on both sides of the ball. Now you can be creative. He doesn’t have to do what we did with him here and play every snap.”

Hunter told USA TODAY Sports in a Zoom call with the media last month that he will “definitely” turn pro after this season, even though he still has one more year of college eligibility. Sanders said Friday that this year could be used as a basis for negotiations. Hunter is eager to play both offense and defense in the NFL, even though teams may view that as an increased risk of injury after investing millions of dollars in him.

“It will be abundantly clear that this is what he wants,” Sanders said. “He is, and it won’t work if you don’t accept that and give him reassurance that that’s what’s going to happen. You have to understand: Travis Hunter is entitled to another year. So if you start being stupid, he can do it.”

Contract extension for Deion Sanders?

As his team prepares to face BYU in the Alamo Bowl on Dec. 28, Sanders is setting the table for his future in Colorado. This also includes the commitment of potential successors to his son Shedeur as quarterback. After signing high school quarterback prospect Julian Lewis, Sanders also recently received a commitment from Kaidon Salter, a transfer quarterback from Liberty who has one year of eligibility left.

It’s unlikely they would have decided to come to Boulder without Sanders planning to stay here. Still, speculation continues that Sanders could be a “package deal” for the NFL coach with Shedeur at quarterback. Sanders dismissed this when asked about it by Eisen. He also hinted at a contract extension with Colorado. His current contract runs until 2027.

“I’m confident we’ll do something to keep me here so we can bring a national championship to this wonderful city,” Sanders told Eisen.

As Sanders looked out the window from his office in Boulder, he said he wanted to create a legacy worthy of carving his face into the mountains there, like presidents on Mount Rushmore.

“I want to see a black face on that white snow out there,” Sanders said with a laugh.

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Deion Sanders said the Heisman vote was too close

Hunter won the Heisman last weekend by the narrowest margin since 2009 – 214 points over Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty, who has rushed for 2,497 yards this season.

Sanders said on the “Colorado Football Coaches Show” Thursday that nothing compares to what Hunter did this year as an elite player on both sides of the ball who rarely left the field.

“I’m tired of being nice to everyone,” Sanders said. “And first of all, it was too close. Come on, man. We’ve already seen all the other stuff. What everyone else did was there (at the Heisman ceremony), we’ve seen it before. We’ve never seen this before. So how can it even be close? Things like that make me angry.”

Show host Mark Johnson noted, “29 players rushed for over 2,000 yards. We saw that.”

“Thank you,” Sanders replied.

“And that doesn’t take anything away from the young man (Jeanty) who has been phenomenal this season,” Johnson said.

“Thank you,” Sanders said.

Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: [email protected]

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Colorado’s Deion Sanders issues NFL Draft warning on Travis Hunter