Check out the best photos from Travis Hunter’s special night in New York City
Colorado Buffaloes wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter was honored with the 2024 Heisman Trophy on Saturday night. The two-way phenom was one of, if not the most, talked-about players in the country this season, and his efforts earned him the highest individual honor in college football.
Hunter played at an elite level on both sides of the ball this season, garnering comparisons across sports to other two-way stars such as Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Beating out other finalists Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty, Miami Hurricanes quarterback Cam Ward and Oregon Ducks quarterback Dillon Gabriel, Hunter became the second player in Colorado football history to win the Heisman.
Check out the best photographs from Saturday’s Heisman Trophy ceremony in New York City:
The Detroit Lions have drafted more Heisman winners than any other team. Can you name all 10?
Congratulations to Colorado’s Travis Hunter, the winner of the 2024 Heisman Trophy. Hunter becomes the 89th winner of college football’s most prestigious award.
Hunter now progresses to the 2025 NFL Draft, where he is expected to be a top-5 overall pick. That will preclude Hunter from joining the long history of Heisman winners who were drafted by the Detroit Lions.
No team has drafted more Heisman Trophy winners over the years than the Lions. Detroit has selected 10 Heisman winners over the years, including two of the first three. It’s been 35 years since the last one, however; Detroit hasn’t drafted a Heisman winner since selecting Barry Sanders and Andre Ware back-to-back in 1989 and 1990.
All of the Heisman Trophy winners drafted by the Lions over the years, with the year of selection:
1937 – Larry Kelly
1938 – Clint Frank
1943 – Frankie Sinkwich
1947 – Glenn Davis
1950 – Leon Hart
1956 – Howard Cassady
1970 – Steve Owens
1980 – Billy Sims
1989 – Barry Sanders
1990 – Andre Ware
Cam Newton made an appearance at the Heisman Trophy ceremony for the first time since his win in 2010. Here’s why he’s been absent and why he returned:
Cam Newton had a pretty good reason not to attend the last 13 Heisman Trophy ceremonies before Saturday night. But he also had a pretty good reason to break that absence and return to the stage he once graced.
The Carolina Panthers legend was in attendance for this year’s presentation of college football’s greatest individual honor. Newton, flanked by his two sons, came back to New York City to support the eventual winner—University of Colorado wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter.
Cam Newton returns to the Heisman Ceremony for the first time in 14 years for Travis Hunter ❤️
Hunter, like a number of NFLers, was a former pupil of Newton’s. Prior to becoming a transcendent talent at the collegiate level, the two-way terror played for Cam’s 7v7 youth football program as a high schooler.
Supporting Hunter obviously meant quite a bit to Newton—who, of course, won the award himself 14 years ago. The Auburn University star quarterback captured his Heisman in a landslide in 2010, earning 729 of the 883 first-place votes.
Newton, however, was crowned in the midst of some controversy involving his father Cecil. The NCAA, through an investigation completed just days before Cam’s Heisman victory, concluded that Cecil engaged in a pay-for-play scheme with his son’s attempted recruitment to Mississippi State University.
Cecil, as a result, claimed he himself decided not to attend since he may have been a distraction. But Cam, in an episode of his podcast from this past March, said the Heisman Trust asked Cecil not to show—the reasoning behind his long absence.
“But I haven’t been to a Heisman event since I left, and it’s because they told my dad he couldn’t come to the ceremony,” he said. “The biggest moment of my life, the most influential person of my life can’t share the biggest time of my life.
“Going back to that time, you have to be reminded, the NCAA was doing a thorough investigation. ‘Mr. Newton, it’s best if you don’t.’ And my dad is similar to me. Any extracurricular distractions, I don’t want. ‘Son, I’ll be in the hotel room.’ And I just remember like after I won the Heisman, I just kept looking at my mom, and she knew. She was like, ‘Yeah, baby, let’s go to the room.’ I’m that person that my dad is such a strong figure in my life. He sacrificed a lot just so I could play.”
But perhaps all’s well that ends well, at least on this night . . .
Travis Hunter’s Heisman Trophy acceptance speech was incredible.
Colorado two-way phenomenon Travis Hunter emerged victorious on Saturday night in New York City with this year’s Heisman Trophy.
Hunter is the first defender to win the award since Michigan legend Charles Woodson in 1997. His victory speech is already an all-timer for the ceremony.
During his emotional acceptance speech, Hunter gave a delightful shout-out to rap legend Lil Wayne (who sat with Hunter at the ceremony) and thanked those who helped him get to where he is now.
As far as Heisman speeches go, Hunter might as well be given another trophy. He knocked this one out of the park and then some.
Hunter joins a proud history of non-quarterbacks to win college football’s top honor and an even more exclusive club as the first defender to take home the trophy since 1997.
Right after his name was called as this year’s Heisman Trophy victor, Hunter shared a really sweet moment with his Colorado coach, Deion Sanders.
The two gave each other a big hug, with Sanders clearly proud of the wide receiver/cornerback sensation he coached at Jackson State and Colorado.
This is a really cool moment between player and coach, as you can tell how much this historic victory means to these two college football legends.
This moment between between Travis Hunter and Deion Sanders after he won the 2024 Heisman Trophy 👏
The history of Heisman Trophy winners in the NFL Draft and where 2024 winner Travis Hunter could get selected
With the announcement that Colorado wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter is the winner of the 2024 Heisman Trophy, it’s time to look at how Heisman winners have fared in the NFL Draft over the years.
The first Heisman was awarded in 1935, won by Jay Berwanger from the University of Chicago. Berwanger subsequently became the first Heisman winner to become the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL selection process, heading to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Including Berwanger up through last year’s Heisman winner and No. 1 overall pick, Caleb Williams, 25 players have been the top draft pick after winning the Heisman. That includes five of the last six, dating back to Baker Mayfield in the 2018 draft. Devonta Smith, the 2020 Heisman winner, went 10th overall in the 2021 NFL Draft.
The 25 winners taken No. 1 include Hall of Famers like Paul Hornung, Earl Campbell and O.J. Simpson but also some largely forgotten players like Frank Sinkwich, Angelo Bertelli and Terry Baker.
Winning the Heisman recently has been a very strong guarantee of becoming a first-round pick, with 17 of the last 19 meeting that threshold. The exceptions are Derrick Henry (2nd round 2016) and Troy Smith (5th round 2007).
Smith wasn’t the latest selection in a draft, however. Far from it, in fact; 1990 winner Ty Detmer wasn’t picked until the ninth round of the 1992 NFL Draft. The winner in ’92 was Geno Torretta, a seventh-rounder in 1993. Going back to before the AFL-NFL merger in 1970, six Heisman winners weren’t selected until at least the 10th round. That group includes Hall of Famer Roger Staubach, though the 1963 Heisman winner deserves an asterisk because he was destined for active duty in the Navy over immediately playing in the NFL.
Three Heisman winners have gone undrafted: Jason White (2003), Charlie Ward (1993) and Pete Dawkins (1958). Ward was a first-round pick in the NBA and played professional basketball for 11 years, however.
In all, 62 Heisman winners have been first-round picks out of 88 winners, with Archie Griffin being the only player to win two Heismans. The Lions have selected the most Heisman winners, with 10. That includes four of the first 12 winners and extends through tabbing winners Barry Sanders and Andre Ware in back-to-back years in 1988 and 1989. The Rams are next in picking eight winners. The New Orleans Saints earn a special mention for selecting four between 1996 winner Danny Wuerffel and 2009 winner Mark Ingram.
Where will Hunter wind up in the 2025 NFL Draft? It’s still to early to know, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see him gracing the draft stage in April in the first handful of picks. There’s even a chance Hunter could add to the list of No. 1 overall picks who captured college football’s most prestigious honor.
Travis Hunter is the first college football defender to win the Heisman Trophy since Charles Woodson.
The 2024 Heisman Trophy has been awarded to a defensive player for the first time since 1997.
Two-way Colorado superstar Travis Hunter took home college football’s top prize on Saturday night in New York City, edging out the second-place finisher in Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty.
Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel and Miami quarterback Cam Ward finished third and fourth respectively with the Heisman voters this year.
Arizona State running back Cam Skattebo came in fifth place in the voting.
Hunter is a wide receiver and a cornerback for the Buffaloes, making him the first defender to win the award since legendary Michigan cornerback Charles Woodson in 1997.
While Colorado didn’t make the College Football Playoff this year, its best player is now a Heisman Trophy winner. Hunter is expected to be a top prospect in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Here are the full results from this year’s Heisman Trophy voting tally.
A look at where Oregon Ducks QB Dillon Gabriel finished in the 2024 Heisman Trophy voting.
The most prestigious individual award in college football was awarded on Saturday night in New York City.
Oregon Ducks quarterback Dillon Gabriel, Boise State Broncos running back Ashton Jeanty, Colorado Buffaloes wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter and Miami Hurricanes QB Cameron Ward were up for the 2024 Heisman Trophy.
The award is given to the most outstanding player in the nation for the college football year, and the Ducks had a finalist for the fifth time ever and the second year in a row.
So where did Gabriel land in the final voting? Take a look:
Gabriel’s third-place finish is the fifth time an Oregon Duck has finished in the top five of the Heisman Trophy voting. QB Joey Harrington finished fourth in 2001; RB LaMichael James finished third in 2010; QB Bo Nix finished third in 2023 and, of course, QB Marcus Mariota won the Heisman Trophy in 2014.
Travis Hunter has become the second player in Colorado history to win the prestigious Heisman Trophy
On Saturday evening, Colorado wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter was announced as the winner of the 2024 Heisman Trophy, college football’s most prestigious individual award.
The two-way phenom becomes the second player in Colorado history to be honored as the nation’s top player, joining the late Rashaan Salaam, who won the award in 1994.
Hunter had a season for the ages, guiding the Buffs on offense and defense to a 9-3 regular season and No. 23 spot in the final College Football Playoff rankings. Consistently flashing some of the best pure receiver skills in the nation, Hunter reeled in 92 catches (fifth nationally) for 1,152 yards (sixth) and 14 touchdowns (second).
Hunter’s success on offense only marked half of his contributions. The junior was named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year following a lockdown season at cornerback, in which he collected four interceptions, broke up 11 passes and allowed only 22 receptions on 39 targets.
The projected top-five NFL draft pick displayed innate value throughout CU’s successful season, making difficult catches on a weekly basis and coming up with massive plays on defense, including a game-sealing forced fumble against Baylor.
While Boise State Broncos running back Ashton Jeanty, Miami Hurricanes quarterback Cam Ward and Oregon Ducks quarterback Dillon Gabriel each had honorable seasons of their own and were named Heisman finalists, Hunter’s unprecedented play helped him reach the pinnacle of individual achievement in college football.
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Travis Hunter of Colorado is your 2024 Heisman Trophy winner
Travis Hunter of Colorado is a throwback. A great two-way player, wide receiver, and defensive back.
And on Saturday, the unicorn star of Deion Sanders’ Buffaloes won the Heisman Trophy. He became the second Colorado player to win the prestigious award, joining the late Rashaan Salaam, who won the Heisman in 1994.
The fifth through 10th spots in the 2024 Heisman balloting were released tonight on The Top 10 Heisman Trophy Finalists Show Presented by @NissanUSA that aired live on @espn. We are now a day away from crowning the 2024 Heisman Trophy winner. #HeismanTrophy#MoreThanATrophypic.twitter.com/lj4BLhX2Mo
Hunter and quarterback Shedeur Sanders led Colorado to a 9-3 record. The Buffs play BYU in the Alamo Bowl on Dec. 28.
Hunter caught 92 passes for 1,152 yards and 14 touchdowns. He also had four interceptions and was in for more than 100 plays regularly during games. He played 1,356 snaps, first in the nation by 434.
Jeanty led the nation with 2.497 rushing yards and 29 touchdowns. Boise State made the College Football Playoffs and is the third-seeded team.
Gabriel quarterback Oregon, the lone undefeated team in the country. He threw for 3,558 yards and 28 touchdowns against six picks.
Ward threw for 4,123 yards and 36 touchdowns.
HIM VS. HIM 😤 TRAVIS HUNTER IS THE FIRST TWO-WAY PLAYER TO WIN THE HEISMAN SINCE CHARLES WOODSON IN 1997 😮 pic.twitter.com/MkbMkfsw9w
