Starting off with Travis Hunter, he is a player we have never really seen before. After being the #1 recruit in the class of 2022, he flipped from FSU to Jackson State to team up with NFL Hall of Famer, Deion Sanders, also known as Coach Prime. After Coach Prime took the Colorado Head Coach job in 2023, Hunter followed him, and it has been history since then. Ever since transferring to Colorado, Hunter has been historic. However, he’s taken it up a notch this season. At WR, Travis Hunter had 92 receptions, 1,152 yards, and 15 Total Touchdowns. He also recorded a PFF grade of 86.1 on the season, which was 5th best for all wide receivers. At DB, Travis Hunter recorded 4 Interceptions, 11 pass breakups, 31 tackles, and a forced fumble. He recorded a PFF grade of 90.3 at DB, which was 3rd best in the nation. The craziest stat however, may be the 1,443 snaps he played all season, which was the most by far in the FBS. Hunter has had some very key performances this year, with him saving his best for last. In a 52-0 blowout against Oklahoma State, Hunter recorded 10 catches for 116 yards and 3 touchdowns on offense, and on defense, recorded 2 PBU’s and an interception. Some other notable moments this season include his game-winning forced fumble against Baylor in OT, where he punched the ball out of Baylor RB Dominic Richardson’s grasp, and it went in the back of the end zone resulting in the win for Colorado. Another one being his revenge game against Colorado’s rival, Colorado State. After getting injured off of a dirty play against Colorado State last year, he got his revenge by getting 13 receptions, 100 yards, 2 TDs, and an interception en route to a 28-8 Colorado win. The main case for Travis Hunter as the Heisman winner is his versatility and his significant impact on both sides of the ball because 95% of the time, when Hunter is on the field, he is the best player on the field. Not to mention playing a massive role in getting Colorado a 9-3 record and almost getting them a Big-12 Championship appearance after they finished 1-11 only 2 seasons prior. Travis Hunter will cause problems for defenses on offense, will lock up the opposing teams #1 receiver with an ability to force turnovers, and can flip a game upside down at any point.
Now for Ashton Jeanty: he is a RB putting up video game-like numbers that we haven’t seen from a RB since Melvin Gordon III was at Wisconsin. He went very under the radar in his HS career, only having 3 D1 offers and being a 3 star recruit coming out of HS. He committed to Boise State and has been lighting it up in the Mountain West Conference ever since. He had his breakout year last year and was rumored to transfer to powerhouse schools such as Georgia and Alabama but he decided to stay at Boise State, and that decision may have made all the difference. Jeanty put up an unbelievable 2497 rushing yards, 29 rushing touchdowns, and 7.3 yards per carry. He led the nation in both rushing yards and rushing touchdowns, as well as being second in yards per carry with a minimum of 100 carries. Not to mention, Jeanty carried Boise State on his back, leading them to a 12-1 record with the only loss being to 13-0 and the #1 seed Oregon Ducks, a second straight Mountain West Title, and the #3 seed in the College Football Playoffs. Like Hunter, Jeanty also had some amazing and important performances. Going up against what is now the #1 team in the country in the Oregon Ducks, Jeanty still managed to put up 200 total yards and 3 touchdowns in a game where they lost by a game-winning field goal. Some of his other great performances include his 271-yard and 6 touchdown game (on only 23 touches) in the season opener against Georgia Southern, his 259-yard and 4 touchdown game against Washington State, and the Mountain West Championship game in which he rushed for 197 yards and a touchdown in the first half alone. The main case for Jeanty as the Heisman is his video game-like numbers and the fact that he lead Boise State to the #3 seed in the College Football Playoffs. Jeanty causes nightmares for defenders and defensive coordinators alike as he has an ability to not only break away for a TD at any moment, but also has the ability to completely wear out defenses. Jeanty is quite literally unstoppable, and it doesn’t matter who’s on the defense. Put 6, 7, 8, even 9 in the box, it doesn’t matter, you won’t be able to stop him. Everyone knows where the ball is going when Boise State is on offense. The question is, can the defense stop it? Unfortunately for the defense, the answer is no.
Both Hunter and Jeanty are fantastic players and deserve all the credit that they receive. Whether you think Hunter deserves it for his exceptional play on both offense and defense or you think Jeanty deserves it for being pretty much unstoppable, they are both unbelievable players and should go on to do big things in the NFL. Regardless of who deserves the award, one thing is for certain: we won’t see seasons like these for a long time.
