NEW YORK (AP) — Colorado’s all-star two-way player Travis Hunter won the Heisman Trophy on Saturday night, capping a season of tireless performance by a dynamic player with a unique combination of skills.
The wide receiver and cornerback dominated on both sides of the ball for coach Deion Sanders and the Buffaloes, joining the late running back Rashaan Salaam in 1994 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 victory. Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty was second with 309 first-place votes and 2,017 points.
Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel placed third and Miami quarterback Cam Ward finished fourth in voting for the 90th Heisman Trophy, presented annually since 1935 to the nation’s most outstanding player. This year’s ceremony was held at Jazz at Lincoln Center in Manhattan, where Sanders was present.
This is only the fifth time this century that a quarterback has not won. The last time no quarterback placed in the top two spots 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 helped fuel an impressive turnaround at 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 earned their first bowl invitation in four years and will face No. 17 BYU (10-2) in the Alamo Bowl on Dec. 28.
Hunter has committed to playing, rather than skipping the game to prepare for the NFL draft and prevent any potential injuries like many top prospects do. The 6-foot-1, 185-pound junior from Suwanee, Georgia, plans to skip his senior season in Boulder and is expected to be a top-five pick, perhaps even No. 1 overall.
On offense, he had 92 receptions for 1,152 yards and 14 touchdowns, plus one rushing score. On defense, he made four interceptions, 32 tackles, deflected 11 passes and forced a critical fumble that secured an overtime victory against Baylor.
With the Buffaloes winning games and challenging for a Big 12 title, he went from an unlikely candidate in Heisman futures betting last summer to the favorite this week.
He played 688 defensive snaps and 672 more on offense, the only player in the Power Four conference with more than 30 snaps on both sides of the ball, according to Colorado research.
This story was translated from English by an AP editor with the help of a generative artificial intelligence tool.
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