Six days after 12 teams were selected to compete for a national title in the College Football Playoff, a different kind of college football honor was handed out.
The Heisman Trophy is college football’s most hallowed individual achievement, with even the trophy itself — depicting a player throwing a stiff arm — standing as a central element of the sport’s mythology.
This week, four college football standouts — Colorado’s Travis Hunter, Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty, Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel and Miami’s Cam Ward — headed to New York with dreams of becoming the latest player to join a list featuring some of the sport’s most iconic figures. Ultimately, though, only one of them was able to leave Manhattan with the trophy.
Colorado’s Travis Hunter was presented with the 2024 Heisman Trophy during a ceremony Saturday night in New York.
Hunter won the award after putting together a season with few, if any, peers in modern college football history.
The Georgia native and Jackson State transfer did a little bit of everything for the Buffaloes while leading them to a 9-3 record in their second season under coach Deion Sanders. Hunter played both offense and defense, logging a total of 1,360 snaps during the 2024 season despite missing the second half of Colorado’s games against Kansas State and Arizona with an injury.
Hunter had emerged as the sizable betting favorite in recent weeks, with the most recent odds from BetMGM putting him at -2500 to take home the award. Ashton Jeanty, at +1000, had the next-best odds.
The possibility of winning the Heisman followed Hunter for much of the season as he racked up seven games with at least 100 receiving yards and five games with a forced turnover. He regularly struck the Heisman pose after making a big play, beginning with a September 28 win at UCF after coming down with an acrobatic interception.
As the Heisman race seemingly came down to Hunter and Jeanty, Hunter’s coaches and teammates routinely touted his candidacy. After Hunter had an interception and three touchdown receptions in Colorado’s 52-0 victory against Oklahoma State on November 29, Sanders said his two-way star “clinched” the coveted award.
“You’ve never seen it before,” Sanders said. “He’s the best player in college football. You can find ways to hate and criticize him and you won’t come out of that looking professional because now you’re just searching for something, like the idiots was talking about with the (Jim) Thorpe (Award) that I guess he didn’t have enough tackles. Well, if a cornerback has a lot of tackles, that means they caught a lot of balls. It’s just stupid. Travis Hunter proved today and he proved every week that he’s the best player in college football.
“You’ve got to give me another definition of the award. The award is to go to who? The best quarterback? I don’t know how you could be voted in every category in some sort. I think he’s up for best offensive player, best defensive player, best receiver. Who else has done that ever?”
Hunter is the second Heisman winner in Colorado history, joining the late Rashaan Salaam, who won the award in 1994.
Heisman voting results 2024
Hunter won with 2,231 total points, as compared to Jeanty, who finished with 2,017 points. The 214-point difference is the smallest margin of victory since Alabama running back Mark Ingram beat out Stanford RB Toby Gerhart in 2009.
Here's the full points total, including first-place votes:
1st place: Colorado WR/CB Travis Hunter (2,231 points, 552 first-place votes)
2nd place: Boise State RB Ashton Jeanty (2,017 points, 309 first-place votes)
3rd place: Oregon QB Dillon Gabriel (516 points, 24 first-place votes)
4th place: Miami QB Cam Ward (229 points, six first-place votes)
5th place: Arizona State RB Cam Skattebo (170 points, three first-place votes)
6th place: Army QB Bryson Daily (69 points, three first-place votes)
7th place: Penn State Tyler Warren (52 points, one first-place vote)
8th place: Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders (47 points, one first-place vote)
9th place: Indiana QB Kurtis Rourke (22 points, two first-place votes)
10th place: Syracuse QB Kyle McCord (nine points)
Travis Hunter stats
During his Heisman-winning season, Hunter truly did it all for Colorado.
As a wide receiver on offense, he finished with 92 catches for 1,152 yards and 14 touchdowns. Hunter ranks fifth among FBS players in receptions, sixth in receiving yards and second in touchdown receptions. He also has a rushing touchdown.
While playing for a coach who’s arguably the greatest defensive back in the history of football, Hunter excelled as a cornerback, as well, recording 11 pass breakups and four interceptions, ranking him first and second, respectively, among all Big 12 players. He had a forced fumble, as well, which allowed his team to hold on for an overtime victory against Baylor on Sept. 21.
Heisman Trophy finalists' stats
Here's a look at the stats of the four Heisman Trophy finalists in 2024:
Travis Hunter
Offense: 92 catches, 1,152 yards, 14 touchdowns; two carries, five yards, one touchdown
Defense: 31 tackles, 11 pass breakups, four interceptions, one forced fumble
Ashton Jeanty
Rushing: 344 carries, 2,497 yards, 29 touchdowns, 7.3 yards per carry
Receiving: 20 catches, 116 yards, one touchdown
Dillon Gabriel
Passing: 297 of 406 passing (73.2%), 3,558 yards, 8.8 yards per attempt, 28 touchdowns, six interceptions
Rushing: 63 carries,192 yards, seven touchdowns
Cam Ward
Passing: 293 of 435 passing (67.4%), 4,123 yards, 9.5 yards per attempt, 36 touchdowns, seven interceptions
Rushing: 58 carries, 196 yards, four touchdowns
Receiving: One catch, 7 yards, one touchdown
Heisman Trophy winners
Here’s a look at the past 10 Heisman Trophy winners, with Saturday’s honoree becoming the latest inclusion on the list:
For full list of winners, click here.
2024: WR/CB Travis Hunter, Colorado
2023: QB Jayden Daniels, LSU
2022: QB Caleb Williams, USC
2021: QB Bryce Young, Alabama
2020: WR DeVonta Smith, Alabama
2019: QB Joe Burrow, LSU
2018: QB Kyler Murray, Oklahoma
2017: QB Baker Mayfield, Oklahoma
2016: QB Lamar Jackson, Louisville
2015: RB Derrick Henry, Alabama
