Colorado’s Travis Hunter was named the winner of the Heisman Trophy, college football’s most prestigious individual award, becoming the first honoree in more than two decades to play significant roles on both offense and defense.
Hunter was one of four Heisman finalists Saturday, and the heavy betting favorite to win. His fellow finalists were Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel, Miami quarterback Cam Ward and Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty.
The award is determined by 928 voters including media members, living past Heisman winners and one fan vote.
Hunter received 552 first-place votes, 2,231 points from voters overall and earned 80.14% of the possible points, but his victory over runner-up Jeanty was no runaway. Hunter’s 214-point margin of victory was the Heisman’s smallest in 15 years. Gabriel finished third in voting and Ward was fourth.
Hunter’s two-way stardom is rare; not since Michigan’s Charles Woodson in 1997 has a Heisman winner played on both sides of the ball. For Hunter, it was no gimmick. In addition to the Heisman, Hunter this season was also named as a finalist for the awards given to college football’s top receiver and top defensive player.
As a cornerback, Hunter’s 11 pass breakups ranked eighth in the NCAA’s Football Bowl Subdivision. He also added four interceptions, 15 passes defended and scored on a game-winning forced fumble recovery.
As a wide receiver, Hunter caught 92 passes to lead the Big 12 Conference and rank fifth in the country. Hunter’s 1,152 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns were sixth and second in the NCAA, respectively. No receiver was a more consistent big-play threat, with an FBS-leading 21 catches of 20 yards or more.
Hunter, who has said he will enter the NFL draft following Colorado’s season, began his college career by upending expectations.
As the nation’s top high school recruit in 2022, he spurned programs from the sport’s most powerful conferences to enroll at Jackson State, a historically Black university, to play for then-coach Deion Sanders. When Colorado hired Sanders in December 2022, Hunter followed his coach — who had bent expectations during his own career, playing both in the NFL and MLB — to Boulder.
Hunter is Colorado’s second Heisman winner, joining running back Rashaan Salaam in 1994.