There is not much else to say about the season Colorado Buffaloes two-way star Travis Hunter had other than to say it is one of the greatest individual college football seasons ever.
Hunter earned his biggest honor on Saturday night when he won the Heisman Trophy, completing a dominant awards week that saw him also win the Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s top wide receiver, the Bednarik Award as the top defensive player, the Walter Camp Award as the player of the year and the Paul Hornung Award as the most versatile player.
He won the award over finalists Dillon Gabriel (quarterback, Oregon), Cam Ward (quarterback, Miami) and Ashton Jeanty (running back, Boise State)
When he cleaned up at the College Football Awards show earlier in the week, it seemed to set the stage for him to take home the Heisman, and it is hard to argue against his win.
Hunter has spent the past two years as a dominant two-way player at wide receiver and cornerback and has been one of the driving forces in helping to return the Colorado football program to relevance.
During his 2024 season, Hunter caught 92 passes for 1,152 yards and 14 touchdowns while also 31 tackles, 11 pass defenses and four interceptions on defense.
It was not uncommon for him to play more than 100 snaps per game, given his workload on offense and defense. He played 1,380 total snaps for the season, by far the most in college football.
Traditionally, the Heisman Trophy is extraordinarily difficult for wide receivers or defensive backs to win. Prior to Hunter, only four wide receivers had ever won the award, while Charles Woodson was the only defensive back — and only primarily defensive player — to win it. It is typically an award that goes to the top quarterback or running back in the country.
Hunter’s play on both sides of the ball, however, was simply too much for the voters to overlook.
The next question for Hunter will be whether or not he can continue this two-way dominance at the next level.
He is a legitimate first-round talent at both positions and figures to be one of the first players off the board in the 2025 NFL Draft. He might not be able to play full-time at both positions at the next level, but it seems like a given he is going to have some sort of a role on both offense and defense, no matter where he goes.
Colorado is set to play in the Alamo Bowl against BYU on Dec. 28 in San Antonio, Texas. It is not yet known if Hunter and Colorado’s other stars will play in that game.
