The Travis Hunter Heisman Train is heading to the one stop that matters: Manhattan.
Hunter, the CU Buffs’ star wide receiver and cornerback, is among the finalists for the 2024 Heisman Trophy, presented annually to the player who provides the most “outstanding performance” in college football, as defined by the award itself.
Finalists were announced late Monday afternoon by ESPN, a short while after voting closed.
The Heisman Trophy will be presented at a ceremony in New York City that begins at 6 p.m. Saturday and will be aired live by ESPN.
Hunter, a 6-foot-1 athlete out of Suwanee, Ga., will join Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel, Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty and Miami quarterback Cam Ward in the Big Apple later this week as the nation’s four leading vote-getters for the award.
“A lot of people say they dream the moments like this, but I can’t say I dreamed of this moment,” Hunter said last month when asked about his junior season at CU.
“Because when I was a kid, I was playing video games, trying to make my player the best player on the field, playing the (EA Sports) college game back in the day with my cousin. We always had a team full of “99” (rated players) overall, trying to make them win the Heisman, win all the good trophies and the big trophies, during this little season we used to play. But no, I never thought, (or) envisioned this would happen for me.”
Hunter led the Buffs in receptions (92), receiving yards (1,152), receiving touchdowns (14), interceptions (four) and passes defended (11). He’s the first Football Bowl Subdivision player since 1980 to record at least four interceptions, 1,100 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns in the same season.
Hunter is just the fourth player in CU history to secure a finish among the Heisman’s top four finalists. Halfback Byron “Whizzer” White wound up second in the 1937 ballot. In 1989, CU sent two finalists to the Big Apple — tailback Eric Bieniemy was third while quarterback Darian Hagan was fifth. Buffs guard/linebacker Joe Romig wound up sixth in the 1961 voting.
Buffs tailback Rashaan Salaam won the award in 1994, becoming the first — and, to date, only — CU player to do so.
“Travis is him, man. Travis is that dude,” CU coach Deion Sanders said of Hunter after the Buffs closed out a 9-3 regular season with a win over Oklahoma State. “Ain’t nobody (that) could deal with him on either side of the ball.
“If we put him at punt return, he would be that dude as well, (on) kick returns as well. He’s that guy. And his draft status is going to tell everyone who he is. Shouldn’t that tell you who he is? He’s probably going to be first or second pick out of the whole (NFL) draft. That should tell you how dominant and prominent he is.”
There was speculation that CU quarterback Shedeur Sanders, who threw for 3,926 yards and 35 touchdowns with a nation-leading 74.2 completion percentage, would join Hunter in Manhattan as one of the four finalists.
His father, Coach Prime, and others throughout the Buffs program lobbied for his inclusion, but ultimately Shedeur did not make the cut despite his prolific numbers. He was, however, named the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year and was named a finalist for the Davey O’Brien Award given to the nation’s top quarterback.
Hunter and Jeanty, who ran for 2,947 yards and 29 touchdowns, are widely considered the favorites to win the award. The Heisman Trust asks voters not to reveal their ballots publicly until the winner is announced, but most straw polls of national writers in recent weeks have shown the Buffs’ two-way star leading the pack, with Jeanty a close second.