Travis Hunter plays both offensive and defensive football for the Colorado Buffalos in Boulder, Colorado. He will probably do both in the National Football League and become a household name. He should win the Heisman Trophy as the best player in college football on Saturday, December 14.
Travis Hunter has won a bunch of postseason awards already, including the Walter Camp award, which is “given annually to the collegiate American football player of the year, as decided by a group of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I FBS head coaches and sports information directors under the auspices of the Walter Camp Football Foundation.”
In this article, we will cover Travis Hunter’s offensive and defensive Statistics. Then the article will list Hunter’s already lengthy postseason award list. We will cover Deion Sanders, the coach Hunter followed from Florida State to Jacksonville State and ultimately to the University of Colorado, where Hunter played for the last two years. Sanders also played on both sides of the ball. To demonstrate Travis Hunter’s two-way success we will begin by detailing Hunter’s unique Offensive and Defensive statistics.
Travis Hunter’s Offensive Statistics
On offense, Travis Hunter primarily played wide receiver, though he did have some rushes for Colorado and Jacksonville State. In 2022 at Jacksonville State, Travis Hunter had 18 receptions for 190 yards. In 2023 at the University of Colorado, Hunter had 57 receptions for 721 yards. This season at the University of Colorado Hunter had 92 receptions for 1,152 yards. That is a nice improvement.
In those three seasons at Jacksonville State and the University of Colorado, Travis Hunter had 4, 5, and 14 touchdowns while playing on offense. He became a good offensive weapon during his senior season. While in college, Hunter rushed the ball three times, for a total of -5 yards with 1 touchdown while at the University of Colorado. This season Hunter had 672 offensive plays, but he played on defense.
Hunter’s Defensive Statistics
Travis Hunter was a five-star recruit who made history by enrolling at a historically black college in Jackson State. The reason Hunter was a five-star recruit is he was capable of a high caliber of play on the offense like we just saw, but he was capable of a high level of play on defense as well. Hunter played 688 snaps on defense in this past season at the University of Colorado. He played cornerback.
It is worth pointing out here that Travis Hunter also played on special teams, mostly returning kicks. Hunter played 121 snaps this year on special teams for the University of Colorado. On defense, Hunter had 19 tackles in 2022 for Jacksonville State. In 2023 he had 31 tackles for The University of Colorado. Hunter also had 31 tackles in 2024, though he will likely get more in the bowl game against BYU.
Travis Hunter’s Awards
Travis Hunter has already won a bunch of awards, and they likely presage a Heisman Trophy victory. Hunter won the Bednarik Award as the nation’s best defensive player. He won the Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s best wide receiver. He won the Paul Hornung Award for most versatile player. He was also named the Associated Press Player of the Year. He won the Lott IMPACT Trophy for Defensive IMPACT Player of the Year. Finally, he won the Walter Camp Award, which is a reliable predictor for the Heisman Trophy.
Deion Sanders
Hunter has said his inspiration is his coach, Deion Sanders. Sanders played both offense and defense in college for Florida State University and in the National Football League. Sanders also played professional baseball. It is not surprising that Sanders is the inspiration for Hunter. Hunter followed Sanders from Florida State, where he initially committed to Jackson State and then Colorado.
Conclusion
It is virtually assured that Travis Hunter will win the Heiman Trophy on December 14. He is spectacular on both sides of the ball, and on special teams as well. The Heisman Trophy would just add to his long list of postseason awards, which include the Walter Camp Awards (a reliable predictor of the Heisman Trophy).
