Travis Hunter, 2024 Heisman Trophy winner, holds the award in a post-ceremony press conference on Saturday, Dec. 14. (Lincoln Roch/CU Independent)
The most prestigious award in college football is coming back to Boulder. Travis Hunter, the University of Colorado’s two-way player, is the 2024 winner of the Heisman Trophy Award.
He is the second winner of the award – which is given out to the most outstanding college football player – in Colorado history. The first, the late CU running back Rashaan Salaam, won the award exactly 30 years ago.
Hunter, initially seen as a long shot for the award, had been the favorite for many weeks of the season after putting on a generational performance for the Buffaloes.
Hunter finished the regular season with 92 receptions for 1,152 yards and 14 touchdowns as a wide receiver. But that’s just half his stats. Defensively, he logged 31 tackles, four interceptions, 11 passes defended and a forced fumble that clinched a win against Baylor University.
He is only the second two-way player to win the award, following Charles Woodson in 1997. In total, he played 1,443 snaps this season, an average of 120.3 per game. That’s nearly every play of every game. No other Heisman finalist played more than 873.
Hunter received 2,231 points to clinch the trophy with runner-up Ashton Jeanty, a running back from Boise State University, receiving 2,017 votes. It’s the closest margin of victory since 2009. Quarterbacks Dillon Gabriel of Oregon and Cam Ward of Miami received 516 and 229 points respectively.
In his acceptance speech, Hunter thanked Colorado’s head coach Deion Sanders, and Sanders’ son, Shedeur Sanders, the team’s quarterback. Hunter played his entire college career with the Sanders family –first at Jackson State University and then at Colorado.
“I’m trying to not get emotional cause I know our last game is coming up soon. Bro, I’m thankful for both of y’all,” Hunter said. “Coach Prime … Thank you, man, you changed my life forever. I told you that multiple times, I’m really appreciative of it.”
The Heisman caps off a week that saw Hunter bring in some of the most coveted awards in college football. He was named the Walter Camp National Player of the Year and Associated Press college football player of the year. Additionally, he became the first player ever to win both the Fred Biletnikoff Award, given to the most outstanding receiver, and the Chuck Bednarik Award for best defensive player of the year.
Hunter will play one last time for Colorado in the Alamo Bowl on Dec. 28 in San Antonio. But the Heisman winner’s plan for tomorrow? Going fishing with his coach.
“Coach Prime, I’m gonna whoop you on that lake tomorrow,” Hunter said.
Contact CU Independent Managing Editor Lincoln Roch at lincoln.roch@colorado.edu.
