Colorado’s Travis Hunter wins the 2024 Heisman Trophy

Colorado’s Travis Hunter won the 2024 Heisman Trophy on Saturday night, making him the first two-way player to receive college football’s most lauded individual honor since Charles Woodson in 1997.

Hunter beat fellow Heisman finalists Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel, Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty and Miami quarterback Cam Ward to take home the hardware with 2,231 points. Jeanty finished a close second (2,017), followed by Gabriel (516) and Ward (229).

“I never thought I’d be in this position,” Hunter said during his acceptance speech. “It’s crazy. Your faith will take you far. It’s actually crazy man. Thank you, thank you, thank you. First, I want to thank my fiancé and my mom. They’ve been with me since the first time I had surgery my freshman year of college .You never took a step away from me. All the hard days I didn’t want to wake up and even watch football. You stayed with me, I’m very grateful to you.

“I’m thankful. I’m thankful for my mom. She took me out of Florida. Bad area, I always get in trouble, to now see where I’m at. It’s crazy.

“I want to thank coach Prime (Deion Sanders), (Colorado quarterback) Shadeur (Sanders), you all changed my life forever.”

As a cornerback/wide receiver, Hunter is a star on both sides of the ball for Deion Sanders’ Buffaloes. He played a whopping 1,443 snaps — roughly split between offense and defense, plus a few more on special teams — in 12 games for Colorado this season, per Pro Football Focus.

That kind of versatility places him in an exclusive club in college football history, which strengthened Hunter’s case for the Heisman. Other than Woodson, who was primarily a defensive back at Michigan, you have to go back several decades to find a player like Hunter who made such an impact on both sides of the ball in a single season.

Hunter received first-team All-Big 12 honors as both a defensive back and wide receiver, but he was also named the conference’s 2024 Defensive Player of the Year, with 15 passes defensed (tied for fifth in the FBS), four interceptions and a game-winning forced fumble.

On offense, Hunter ranks fifth in the FBS with 92 receptions for 1,152 yards (sixth) and 14 touchdowns (second). He had three games with 10 or more catches and seven outings with 100 or more receiving yards. He also ran for a touchdown against Utah.

Hunter, a junior, told reporters during a conference call last month that he “definitely” plans to enter the 2025 NFL Draft. Underclassmen have until Jan. 15 to petition the NFL for special draft eligibility. Deion Sanders has said he expect Hunter to play for Colorado in the Alamo Bowl on Dec. 28 against BYU. The former five-star recruit first made headlines by committing to Sanders at Jackson State, then did so again by following Sanders to Boulder.

Gabriel, the 2024 Big Ten Offensive Player and Quarterback of the Year, led Oregon to a 13-0 season, a Big Ten championship and the No. 1 seed in the upcoming College Football Playoff. Ward lifted the Hurricanes in his first year in Miami, earning ACC Player of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year. Jeanty earned his second Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year award this season, racking up an FBS-best 2,613 all-purpose yards and 30 touchdowns.

They were all worthy finalists, but Hunter was in a class of his own this past season – and perhaps for many seasons to come.