Colorado two-way star Travis Hunter isn't holding a grudge against the player whose hit sent him to the hospital and cost him at least two games.
Hunter and Colorado State defensive back Henry Blackburn met Wednesday and went bowling together, as shown in a video posted Thursday on Hunter's YouTube channel.
Hunter suffered a lacerated liver on a late hit out of bounds by Blackburn, who was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct, in the first half of the Buffaloes' home victory Sept. 16. Hunter returned to the game but later went to a local hospital, where he was treated and released.
Hunter missed last week's loss to Oregon and will be out again Saturday when USC visits Colorado.
Blackburn and his family received threats, including death threats, during and after the game as a result of his campus address, home address and phone number being published online. Colorado coach Deion Sanders condemned the threats.
Hunter and Blackburn began communicating through social media shortly after the game, and Hunter invited Blackburn back to Boulder, where Blackburn grew up and attended high school. Colorado State defensive back Ron Hardge III, whose brother Isaiah plays for Colorado, helped the two players connect.
Their Wednesday meeting was part of the video that Hunter posted on his YouTube channel, which has 252,000 subscribers. Both players each donated $1,000 for their bowling game, with the winner selecting a charity that will receive the proceeds. Hunter and his partner won the game, but Hunter let Blackburn pick the charity to donate. He picked Realities For Children, which helps abused and at-risk children and has locations near both the Colorado State and Colorado campuses.
"For the people that love to see the negativity, this ain't a negative video, man," said Hunter, who signed autographs and took pictures with some fans at the bowling alley. "It's straight positive. There's nothing but positivity this way."
Hunter also expounded on the incident by calling it "a blessing that that happened" and saying that it "can show people the other side of football."
"Football's just a game at the end of the day, and we're the people that play it," he continued. "We're going to get hurt eventually. ... This video is something good. Us coming together is something good that came out of that injury and that football game."
Blackburn responded by saying, "you know I never meant to hurt you," and that he appreciated the way Hunter handled what happened with the incident.
"A lot of people would ... have hatred, and you handled it in a mature way," Blackburn said in the video.
He continued by saying, "All that stuff that went down after the game, I can take it, I'm not tripping about me. I've got two little sisters at the house still in elementary school, so that's what mainly I was worried about, their safety and everything. I appreciate you coming out and saying it's football, because that helped calm things down."
The players also discussed their shared faith, how Hunter plays both offense and defense and what they will do after football. Hunter said he will be a professional fisherman.
Hunter has 9 tackles, 1 interception and 2 pass breakups at cornerback. As a receiver, he has 16 receptions for 213 yards in three games.
Blackburn has 23 tackles and an interception in three games for CSU.