Travis Hunter, the 2-way standout for Colorado, is the AP college football player of the year

 

[December 13, 2024]  By PAT GRAHAM

BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — Travis Hunter is a throwback-type player — an elite receiver one moment, a lockdown cornerback the next — who rarely leaves the field and has a knack for making big plays all over it.

The Colorado Buffaloes' two-way standout ( see: unicorn ) even celebrates at an elite level, unveiling imaginative dance moves following touchdowns and interceptions, some of which include the Heisman Trophy pose. It's one of the many awards he's in line to win.

Hunter is the The Associated Press college football player of the year, receiving 26 of 43 votes Thursday from a panel of AP Top 25 voters. Boise State tailback Ashton Jeanty finished second with 16 votes and Arizona State running back Cameron Skattebo received one vote.

Hunter kept piling up the hardware later Thursday night. He won the Walter Camp Award as player of the year along with the Chuck Bednarik Award as the top defensive player and the Biletnikoff Award for the best wide receiver.

“Couldn’t do what I do without my team,” Hunter said in an email on a trip to Las Vegas for an awards ceremony. “So I view being up for these awards as team awards.”

The Jim Thorpe Award as the best defensive back went to Texas cornerback Jahdae Barron, who led the Southeastern Conference with five interceptions. Hunter wasn’t a finalist for the Thorpe award, drawing the wrath of his coach, Deion Sanders, who won it with Florida State in 1988 and vowed to give his trophy to Hunter.

Jeanty won the Maxwell Award as college football's top player and the Doak Walker Award for the nation’s top running back after leading the nation with 2,497 yards and 29 touchdowns. Miami's Cam Ward was the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback of the Year award winner with a nation-best 36 passing touchdowns along with 4,123 passing yards.

The coach of the year was Indiana's Curt Cignetti, who led his team to the playoffs after being picked to finish 17th of 18 Big Ten teams.

South Carolina defensive end Kyle Kennard captured the Bronco Nagurski Trophy as the top defensive player, racking up 11 1/2 sacks and 18 1/2 tackles for loss.

Ohio State center Seth McLaughlin, an Alabama transfer, won the Rimington Trophy.

The top punter was USC's Eddie Czaplicki, who captured the Ray Guy Award. Louisiana's Kenneth Almendares was picked as the top placekicker, winning the Lou Groza Award.

Georgia's Jalon Walker won the Butkus Award as the nation's best linebacker, heading into the playoffs with 57 tackles, including 6 1/2 sacks and 10 1/2 tackles for loss. Texas left tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. was the Outland Trophy winner as the top interior lineman.

Penn State's Tyler Warren won the John Mackey Award given to the most outstanding tight end after setting school single-season records with 67 catches for 808 yards.

Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe won the William V. Campbell Award as the top scholar-athlete. Oregon leading tackler Bryce Boettcher captured the Burlsworth Trophy as the best player who started his career as a walk-on.

But the biggest winner was Hunter.

A player with his particular set of skills doesn't come around that often. He's a flashback to the days of Charles Woodson at Michigan or Champ Bailey at Georgia. Or even Sanders, a two-way star in the NFL.

The prospect of significant playing time on both sides of the ball is what led Hunter to join Sanders at Jackson State and why he followed Sanders to Boulder.

Colorado wide receiver Travis Hunter (12) runs after catching a pass during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Central Florida, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack, File)

“Coach Prime was the only coach who would consider allowing me to do what I’m doing,” said Hunter, who's expected to be a top-five pick next spring in the NFL draft, possibly even the No. 1 overall selection. “He did it and knows what it takes — how much you have to be ready on both sides of the ball.”

Want to fuel Hunter? Simply tell him he can't.

“I’m motivated when people tell me I can’t do something,” Hunter said. “That I can’t dominate on both sides of the ball. I want to be an example for others that anything is possible. Keep pursuing your dreams.”

Hunter helped the 20th-ranked Buffaloes to a 9-3 record and a berth in the Alamo Bowl against No. 17 BYU (10-2) on Dec. 28. He played 688 defensive snaps and 672 more on offense — the lone Power Four conference player with 30-plus snaps on both sides of the ball, according to Colorado research.

Hunter had already won a second straight Paul Hornung award as the game's most versatile player. And, of course, he's the odds-on favorite to win the Heisman over Jeanty this weekend. Hunter can join the late Rashaan Salaam as the only Colorado players to capture the Heisman. Salaam won it in 1994 after rushing for 2,055 yards.

Hunter's high school coach, Lenny Gregory, knew he had a special player the summer of Hunter's freshman year. Gregory, then the coach at Collins Hill in Georgia, had a conditioning test for his players — run six 200-yard dashes with a minute of rest in between. Defensive backs had to complete each in under 32 seconds.

Hunter never even got winded. He played safety, cornerback and receiver as a freshman and helped Collins Hill to a state title his senior season.

“I remember just talking to colleges the spring of his ninth-grade year and telling coaches that this kid’s going to be the No. 1 player in the country," recounted Gregory, who's now the coach at Gordon Central High in Calhoun, Georgia. “They'd look at him and laugh at me, ‘What are you talking about? This scrawny kid? He’s not big enough.’ I was like, ‘Just watch. Just watch.'”

Hunter finished the regular season with 92 catches for 1,152 yards and 14 touchdowns as a receiver. On defense, he had four interceptions, broke up 11 passes and forced one crucial fumble, which secured an OT win over Baylor.

Overall, Hunter had 92 receptions and allowed 22. He hauled in 14 receiving TDs and allowed just one. He was responsible for 53 first downs and gave up just six. He was targeted 119 times by quarterback Shedeur Sanders & Co. but only 39 times by opposing QBs.

Hunter's likely final game in Boulder, a rout of Oklahoma State, was a three-touchdown, one-interception performance.

“I’m used to seeing him do all this spectacular stuff,” Shedeur Sanders said. “I’m used to all this stuff — you all are just now seeing it on national stage.”

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AP Sports Writer John Zenor contributed to this report.

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