Colorado wide receiver and cornerback Travis Hunter won the 2024 Heisman Trophy award, college football's top individual prize, during a ceremony in New York City Saturday (December 14) night.
Hunter, 21, recorded 92 receptions for 1,152 yards and 14 touchdowns as a wide receiver, as well as 32 tackles, four interceptions and 11 pass deflections as a cornerback. The Florida native is the second full-time defensive player to win the Heisman Trophy and the second University of Colorado player to win the award, 30 years after late former Buffaloes running back Rashaan Salaam won the award in 1994.
Hunter received 2,231 total points with 552 first-place votes in the Heisman voting, ESPN reported during its live broadcast of the ceremony. Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty finished second with 2,017 total points (309 first-place votes), which the smallest Heisman voting margin of victory since 2009.
Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel finished third with 516 points (24 first-place votes), followed by Miami quarterback Cam Ward with 229 points (six first-place votes) and Arizona State running back Cam Skattebo with 170 total points (three first-place votes).
Hunter's emergence as college football's biggest two-way star took a unique path as he signed to play for head coach Deion Sanders at Jackson State University, a historically Black College, despite interest from perennial powerhouses as the consensus No. 1 prospect for the 2022 national recruiting cycle. Hunter followed Sanders, a Pro Football and College Football Hall of Famer who is widely regarded as the greatest cornerback of all-time and occasionally lined up at wide receiver, to the University of Colorado shortly after his hiring in 2023.
Colorado, which went 1-11 in 2022 prior to Sanders' hiring, finished the 2024 season with a 9-3 (7-2 Big 12 Conference), currently ranked No. 23 overall in the College Football Playoff rankings.