Travis Hunter’s historic two-way Heisman win defies early season odds-makers

University of Colorado Boulder superstar Travis Hunter officially has bragging rights over his larger-than-life head coach, Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders. On Saturday, Dec. 14, Hunter won the Heisman Trophy, awarded annually to College Football’s best player, an achievement Coach Prime missed out on during his hall-of-fame career.

He thanked and hugged his family, his coach, quarterback Shedeur Sanders and even rapper Lil Wayne on his way to the podium.

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Hunter is the first player to win the award while playing on both offense and defense in every game of the season. The wide receiver and cornerback logged over 1,400 snaps, more than any player in college football this season.

Along with being the first two-way player, Hunter is the first Heisman winner to start his career at a smaller FCS, or Football Championship Subdivision, school. He played one season for Sanders at Jackson State before following him to Colorado in 2023.

Hunter’s statistics during this season with the Buffaloes speak for themselves. He totaled four interceptions and only allowed a single touchdown pass on defense. On offense, he completed 92 catches for a total of 1,152 yards and 14 touchdowns.

Asked after the ceremony, Hunter was asked what advice he would give to kids who might look up to him.

“You grow up kinda fast, you know,” Hunter said. “There’s a lot of people that tell you, ‘You can’t do it,’ and I always tell people to keep your foot on the gas, no matter what. That means don’t let down, don’t be down on yourself, don’t let people tell you what you can’t do.”

When the season began, Hunter was a 75-1 underdog to win the award. It was the closest vote in 15 years, which highlighted some of the controversy with the final tally. Hunter beat out Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty, who rushed for nearly 2,500 yards and is just 133 yards away from Barry Sanders’ all-time college record.

Jeanty was disappointed with the result.

“Obviously, everything is earned,” Jeanty said. “But I just really felt like I should have walked away with the award. Kudos to Travis for winning, but yeah, it’s as simple as that.”

In April 2025, Hunter could be the number one overall pick in the NFL draft. Before that, he will play one more game with Coach Prime and his Colorado teammates. The Buffaloes play against Brigham Young University (BYU) in the Alamo Bowl on Dec. 28.