Just a year ago, Colorado football was home to Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter for his exceptional play on both sides of the ball. While Hunter was in the midst of that season, his head coach, Deion Sanders, called his shot on who was next up.
In a video, Sanders called over then redshirt-freshman Isaiah Hardge to the camera. He explained that the gray jersey he was wearing indicated he was a two-way player, then Sanders compared him to Hunter.
“He’s a two-way player,” Sanders said. “You only thought we had Travis? He’s next.”
“You only thought we had Travis, He next”
Coach Prime on Redshirt Freshman
Isaiah Hardge being a 2-way player 🔥 #SkoBuffs pic.twitter.com/t5NGt9zr8t— We Coming 🦬 (@SkoBuffsGoBuffs) October 1, 2024
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Now, Hardge is going to play for Tennessee. On Sunday, he committed to the Vols while on a visit to Knoxville.
Hardge will have two years of eligibility remaining after rounding out his redshirt-sophomore season with the Buffs in 2025. He played both wide receiver and cornerback for the Buffs this past year.
As a receiver in the slot, Hardge played a total of 68 snaps and recorded five receptions for 37 yards. He also recorded one rush attempt. At cornerback, he played 97 snaps, mostly against Arizona State and Kansas State. He posted 14 tackles on the year.
Hardge also has the ability to be a returner, which is an opening on the Vols’ roster, as well. He took one punt return for 17 yards and a kick return for 43 in 2024 as a redshirt-freshman. However, he did not return kicks in 2025.
It’s unclear so far exactly how Josh Heupel plans to use Hardge next season. He’s tried to find ways to use two-way players, but Dee Williams’ switch to offense was on a condensed window in 2023 and Boo Carter got offensive duties taken away after issues in the off-season before 2025.
