BOULDER, Colo. — 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. The Heisman is one of the many awards he’s in line to win.
Hunter is 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 Cam Skattebo received one vote.
“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.”
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 his coach, Deion 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.
“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 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 this season 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 4 conference player with 30-plus snaps on both sides of the ball, according to Colorado research.
Hunter has already won a second straight Paul Hornung Award as the game’s most versatile player. He’s up for the Walter Camp (player of the year), Maxwell (most outstanding player), Biletnikoff (best receiver) and Bednarik (top defensive player) awards.
And, of course, the Heisman, where he’s a finalist and the odds-on favorite to win over Jeanty this weekend. Hunter can join Rashaan Salaam as the only Colorado players to capture the Heisman. Salaam won it in 1994 after rushing for 2,055 yards.
Hunter wasn’t a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award, which goes to the nation’s top defensive back. That drew the wrath of Sanders, who earned the award with Florida State in 1988 and vowed to give his trophy to Hunter.
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 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 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.”
