Why Is Colorado’s Travis Hunter the Heisman Trophy Favorite?
These four plays tell the story of the two-way Colorado star’s historic season
I remember exactly when I witnessed my first Heisman moment. It was Nov. 19, 2005, and I had just finished my youth football season in Spring Valley, California. One of my teammates had an Xbox and a father that cooked a meeeaaannnn gumbo—so most of our Saturday nights were spent in his living room, huddled around the television. This particular night started with a Madden tournament, but soon our attention was commandeered by the greatest show on television at the time—hometown legend Reggie Bush, who gained over 500 yards against Fresno State. That performance sent us into a preteen hysteria and inspired us to go out under the streetlights to try to become our own mini versions of the USC star—dreaming about juking out defenders once we got to high school.
Nearly 20 years after Bush stopped on a dime and switched the ball behind the back at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, two-way phenomenon Travis Hunter is inspiring similar feelings for this generation. College football isn’t much in the business of Heisman moments anymore, but Hunter’s splash plays as both a cornerback and a wide receiver have permeated our algorithm in a way that makes it clear we’re watching something truly special. Hunter is a heavy favorite to win the Heisman on Saturday night and he heads to New York City having already won the awards for college football’s top player (the Walter Camp), best defender (the Chuck Bednarik), and top receiver (the Fred Biletnikoff).
Hunter’s season has been a case study in legend-building, both because of his excellence and because of the accolades already heaped upon him. Hunter could have been overexposed by the intense spotlight that comes with playing for Deion Sanders. Instead, his play was a draw unto itself; Hunter, not his coach, was the reason it was exciting to watch Colorado this season. We can tell the story of Hunter’s season separate from the #COACHPRIME ecosystem, and Hunter’s production will only get more impressive as we reminisce in the years to come. Hunter’s “iron man” snap count—672 snaps on offense, and 713 on defense, per Pro Football Focus—and his week-to-week durability while playing both ways is remarkable, and his raw statistics are both impressive and somehow still fall short of capturing his impact on the field: 1,152 receiving yards, 4 interceptions, 11 passes defended, with 15 total touchdowns (14 as a receiver, and one rushing score).
This entire Heisman race is special for the way it impacted the sport and forced the general public to tune into a non-power brand—Colorado is a big deal because of Prime, but is hardly a heavyweight contender, and likely Heisman runner-up Ashton Jeanty plays in the Mountain West. If Hunter wins, he’ll be the first defensive player to take home the award since Charles Woodson in 1997.
But before Hunter makes more history, let’s take a look at a handful of the plays that tell the story of his historic season—the kinds of plays kids across the country will want to emulate like my friends and I did with Bush almost 20 years ago.
Play 1: A Catch You Only See in Video Games
As a receiver, Travis Hunter tracks the ball like DeSean Jackson and DeVonta Smith, finding ways to get into position to reel in the ball despite his thinner frame—even when defenders are draped on him. According to PFF, Hunter caught 11 of his 16 contested targets, the kind of production you’d expect from a big-bodied outside receiver. This touchdown grab in the corner of the end zone against Oklahoma State illustrates Hunter’s rare gifts as a ball-winner, and makes clear that he’s creating offense for quarterback Shedeur Sanders and Colorado—not the other way around.
There’ll be debates over the next few months about whether Hunter is better suited to play receiver or defensive back in the NFL, but it’s hard to imagine NFL coaches seeing a pro prospect make plays like this and not wanting him available for their quarterbacks at all times.
Play 2: A Catch You Won’t Even See in Video Games
If this happened to me in a game of EA Sports College Football 25, I can’t guarantee that my controller would still be functional after. Hunter is raw as a route runner (evidenced by his release at the line of scrimmage), but his hands are too special for it to matter most of the time. This play came in the season opener against North Dakota State, and the Bison showed they could hang in a fight with any player on CU’s star-studded roster … except for Hunter. It’s hard to cover a back-shoulder throw much better than the Bison defender did here, but Hunter makes the catch with his arms outstretched far away from his body as he’s contorting to keep his feet in bounds. I don’t know what kind of sorcery it takes to make plays like this, but I’m equal parts afraid and intrigued.
Play 3: A Playmaking Savant
Stop right here. Listen to me closely: What Travis Hunter does on this interception isn’t just uncanny, it’s the kind of play that drives football coaches to create a separate set of rules for one player compared to the rest of the roster. Hunter is simply so physically gifted that he can get away with things within the defensive scheme that other players cannot. Every bit of this play by UCF’s offense is designed to manipulate Hunter in coverage, and put the cornerback in a position where he can’t be right, theoretically. Playing Cover 2, Hunter has to affect the release of the receiver, sink beneath the receiver who is running vertically up the sideline, and then rally to cover the checkdown pass and be in position to make the tackle. For 99 percent of defensive backs, simply making a tackle would be an excellent outcome. Hunter has a different set of quick-twitch muscle fibers, though, and he gets a perfect jump on the ball, laying out to make the interception.
When players flash both elite physical and mental traits like this, it’s a challenge for a defensive coordinator when he’s evaluating his scheme. Any normal corner would get yelled at in practice for even attempting to do what Hunter did against UCF. And yet, this will probably be the play Colorado’s defensive back coaches will take on the road to coaching clinics this spring as an example of good development of technique in Cover 2—even though we know that no amount of coaching can guarantee this result with other players, because of Hunter’s unique combination of talent and smarts.
Play 4: Playmaking Savant, Part 2
You know what you call Travis Hunter with two defenders on him? Wide open.
Everything about this play against Utah is a disaster for Colorado’s offense before Hunter takes to the sky. Sanders is holding on to the ball forever, and there’s an unblocked rusher bearing down on him. Sanders lofts the ball up toward Hunter, letting it hang in the air long enough for the deep safety and the underneath corner to get into position to either square up the pass and make an interception or deliver a huge hit on Hunter. It’s impressive that Hunter was able to adjust to the ball and show off enough body control to even get into the air and fight for the ball in the first place. That he managed to come down with the ball after being suspended in the air is the kind of play you’d expect from some of the NFL’s best ball-winners, like Ja’Marr Chase, Mike Evans, or prime Stefon Diggs.
It’s hard to grasp how routinely Hunter made plays like this in 2024, and every dance and Heisman pose in the end zone is justified. With apologies to Jeanty, who holds a special place in my linebacker heart after producing as dominant a season as we’ve seen from a running back in years, this award belongs to Hunter and there’s no surprise that he’s an overwhelming favorite.
It’s time for college football to crown a new legend in the pantheon of this game, and I eagerly look forward to observing Hunter’s influence on the coming generations, just as we did in those Spring Valley driveways decades ago.
