Travis Hunter was the top high school player in Georgia during the 2021 football season.
Will he end the 2024 season as the top college player in the country?
The Collins Hill great has earned national recognition as a two-way star for the Colorado Buffaloes this season. With two regular-season games remaining, he has emerged as the leading candidate for the Heisman Trophy, presented annually to the top player in college football.
Hunter leads the team in receptions (total and touchdowns) and interceptions. He’s on the field for more than 100 plays per game on offense and defense. Some of his top plays have been highlight-worthy (and some will say Heisman-worthy).
So, will the former Georgia high school player of the year win the 2024 Heisman Trophy? His coach believes so.
“I’m not giving any messages to Heisman voters,” Colorado coach Deion Sanders said. “If they can’t see, they can’t see. It is what it is. Travis is who he is. It’s supposed to go to the best college football player. If they can’t see it, there’s a problem.”
If Hunter wins the Heisman, he’ll become the first player from Colorado to win it since Rashaan Salaam in 1994. And he’ll be the first since Charles Woodson in 1997 to accomplish the feat as a two-way player. Also, he would become the fifth player from a Georgia high school to win the award and the second from Gwinnett County, after George Rogers (Duluth, 1980), Herschel Walker (Johnson County, 1982), Charlie Ward (Thomas County Central, 1993) and Cam Newton (Westlake, 2010).
Greatness always has been predicted as a part of Hunter’s future, even back to his days dominating Georgia high schoolers while leading Collins Hill to the 2021 Class 7A title.
“He’s not human,” Lenny Gregory, Hunter’s coach at Collins Hill, said in 2021. “I’ve never seen anything like it in my life. I’ve never seen him tired. If it was up to him, he’d never come off the field for anything, ever.”
“His ability to locate, track and attack the ball in air is what separates him from other elite athletes,” said Adam Clack, after his Milton squad lost to Collins Hill 24-8 in the 2021 Class 7A championship game. “He has the best ball skills I’ve ever seen.”
His journey to college football stardom has included:
-Pulling a signing-day stunner in December 2021 by joining Sanders at Jackson State after a long-time commitment to Florida State. The top-ranked recruit in the country became the first five-star prospect from Georgia to sign with an FCS team by selecting the Tigers over the Seminoles, where he previously committed in March.
-Capped his lone season at Jackson State with an electrifying TD catch in the 2022 Celebration Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Hunter eventually joined Sanders, who was named head coach at Colorado, in Boulder.
-Earned All-American honors as an all-purpose player in 2023. In his first game, Hunter was a terror on offense and defense — 11 catches for 119 yards on offense, an interception and three tackles on defense.
This season’s numbers have been eye-opening to say the least — 74 receptions (team high), nine TD catches (team high and tied for best in Big 12), three interceptions (team high). In Colorado’s most recent game — the nationally televised 49-24 win over Utah — Hunter was at his versatile best:
-Five receptions for 55 yards
-Rushing touchdown
-Interception and three solo tackles
-132 snaps played (66 offense, 66 defense)
Colorado will have two games in the next seven days (Saturday at Kansas and Nov. 29 at home against Oklahoma State) and could play Dec. 7 in the Big 12 Championship game. On Dec. 14, Hunter could win college football’s top award at the 2024 Heisman Trophy ceremony in New York — a little more than three years to the day after ending his Georgia high school career with a state championship.
“He’s the best football player I’ve seen in my life,” Gregory said. “Definitely the best I’ve ever coached.”
