It's a Heisman Rarity: a Two-Way Player

Two-way star Travis Hunter of Colorado won the Heisman Trophy on Saturday night, the honor going to a dynamic player with a unique combination of skills. The wide receiver and cornerback dominated on both sides of the ball for coach Deion Sanders and the Buffaloes, per the AP.

• Easy win: Hunter received 552 first-place votes and 2,231 points in a comfortable victory. Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty was the runner-up with 309 first-place votes and 2,017 points. Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel came in third and Miami quarterback Cam Ward finished fourth in balloting for the 90th Heisman Trophy.
• Offense, defense: Hunter rarely came off the field this year—making him an every-down throwback to generations gone by and the first full-time, true two-way star in decades. On offense, he had 92 catches for 1,152 yards and 14 touchdowns, plus a rushing score. On defense, he made four interceptions, 32 tackles, broke up 11 passes, and forced a critical fumble that secured an overtime victory against Baylor.

• Another rarity: It marked only the fifth time this century a quarterback didn't win. The last time no signal-caller placed in the top two was 2015, when running backs Derrick Henry of Alabama and Christian McCaffrey ran 1-2 in voting.
• Impact: Hunter also won the AP player of the year award this week. He helped spark an impressive turnaround at Colorado, from 4-8 in 2023 when he missed 3 1/2 games because of injuries to 9-3 this year in Sanders' second season. The 20th-ranked Buffaloes got their first bowl bid in four years and will face No. 17 BYU (10-2) in the Alamo Bowl on Dec. 28.
• To the NFL: The 6-foot-1, 185-pound junior from Suwanee, Georgia, plans to pass up his senior season in Boulder and is expected to be a top-five pick by the pros—perhaps even No. 1 overall.

(More Heisman Trophy stories.)