NEW YORK (AP) — Two-time Colorado star Travis Hunter won the Heisman Trophy on Saturday night, a sign of tireless performance all season by a dynamic player with a unique combination of skills.
The wide receiver and lockdown cornerback dominated on both sides of the ball coach Deion Sanders and the Buffaloes, who in 1994 joined late running back Rashaan Salaam as the only players in school history to take home college football’s most prestigious individual award.
Hunter received 552 first-place votes and 2,231 points in a comfortable win. Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty was the runner-up with 309 first-place votes and 2,017 points.
Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel finished third and Miami quarterback Cam Ward finished fourth vote for the 90th Heisman Trophy, Awarded annually since 1935 to the country’s most outstanding player. This year’s ceremony took place at Jazz at Lincoln Center in Manhattan, where Sanders attended.
It was only the fifth time this century that a quarterback did not win. The last time a signal caller wasn’t placed in the top two was in 2015, when Alabama running backs Derrick Henry and Christian McCaffrey went 1-2 in the voting.
Hunter also won The Associated Press Player of the Year Award this week. He led an impressive turnaround in Colorado, from 4-8 in 2023, when he missed 3 1/2 games due to injuries, to 9-3 this year in Sanders’ second season. The 20th ranked Buffaloes received their first bowl bid in four years and will face No. 17 BYU (10-2) in the Alamo Bowl on Dec. 28.
Hunter has promised to play, instead of skipping the game to prepare for the NFL draft and avoid possible injuries, as many top players do. The 6-foot-1, 185-pound junior from Suwanee, Georgia, plans to forgo his senior season in Boulder and is projected to be in the top five among the pros — perhaps even No. 1 overall.
Showcasing his blazing speed and explosive play, Hunter rarely left the field this year, making him an absolute throwback to generations gone by and the first full-time, true two-way star in decades.
On offense, he had 92 catches for 1,152 yards and 14 touchdowns, plus a rushing score. On defense, he made four interceptions, 32 tackles, broke up 11 passes and forced a critical fumble that secured an overtime win against Baylor.
With the Buffaloes winning games and challenging for a Big 12 title, he rose from an established underdog in the Heisman futures last summer to a major betting favorite this week.
Meanwhile, he struck the Heisman pose with teammates to celebrate big plays as it became increasingly clear that Hunter was the man to beat.
He played 688 snaps on defense and another 672 on offense – the only Power Four conference player with more than 30 snaps on both sides of the ball, according to Colorado research.
It seems like an overly tiring workload for any player these days, both mentally and physically, but not for Hunter.
“I think I’ve laid the foundation for more people to come in and go both ways,” he said Friday. “It starts with your mindset. If you believe you can do it, then you will be able to do it. And I also do a lot of treatments. I continue to follow my body. I get a lot of recovery.”
Hunter, rated as the nation’s top recruit in the class of 2022, surprised many when he committed to play for Sanders at Jackson State, an HBCU that competes in the FCS at a lower level, promising to deliver both offense and defense to play.
After one season, Hunter followed Sanders to Colorado and was a consensus All-America selection as an all-purpose player last year despite sitting out three games with a lacerated liver caused by a late hit.
After his recovery, a healthy Hunter finished strong in 2023 and then really took off this season, catching passes from Shedeur Sanders, the coach’s son, and becoming Colorado’s first Heisman Trophy finalist in 30 years.
Deion Sanders, nicknamed Prime Time during his playing days — seemingly alone — was a two-time All-America defensive back at Florida State and finished eighth in the 1988 Heisman voting.
An electrifying kick returner who also played Major League baseball, Neon Deion went on to a Hall of Fame career as an NFL cornerback, but mostly focused on offense besides a 36-catch season with the Dallas 1996 Cowboys.
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There’s nothing like Hunter, who now has a Heisman lead over Coach Prime forever.