Forde-Yard Dash: Travis Hunter Stands Alone As Heisman Front-Runner

The Colorado phenom is putting together an all-purpose season for the ages, but a talented group of quarterbacks is still in the chase to win college football’s most coveted individual honor.

Hunter has handled a heavy workload on both sides of the ball exceptionally well through three games. / Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Forty names, games, teams and minutiae making news in college football, where Pat Narduzzi is popping off again. First Quarter: Twelve Angry Men. Second Quarter: Buy or Sell the Hype of Undefeated Teams.

Third Quarter: The Heisman Race Should Begin and End With One Man … For Now

The Heisman Trophy is both a great and flawed award. It’s an enduring talisman of college football culture that now predictably goes to someone who fits a certain formula: the star of a national-championship contender (or other brand-name school) with big statistics. Spectacular highlights are also a plus. In recent years, that’s almost always a quarterback, as their impact on the game has grown.

But if ever there were a year to expand the parameters for what makes a contender, this is it. There is one player who should be the front-runner at this early stage, and that is Colorado Buffaloes all-purpose phenomenon Travis Hunter (23). He is simply without peer.

What the junior defensive back/wide receiver is doing hasn’t been accomplished at the highest level of football in ages—quite likely since the single-platoon days died out in the college game 60 years ago. It’s rarely even been tried, at least on an immersive level. Hunter is playing both ways, all game, every game. He’s excelling at both.

He played 123 out of 138 snaps against the Colorado State Rams on Saturday, according to Colorado, racking up 100 yards receiving, an interception and five tackles. He’s played 388 snaps this season, according to the Boulder Daily Camera, an average of 129 per game, far more than anyone else in college football. He’s not just tireless, he’s great at both jobs.

Hunter is second in the nation in receptions at 10 per game. He’s ninth in receiving yards at 114 per game. He’s tied for second in touchdown catches with five.

And then there is the defensive side of the ball, where he’s probably even more gifted. He has 11 tackles, two passes broken up and one interception, and has effectively discouraged opposing quarterbacks from excessively testing him. Hunter will cover and he will hit.

Hunter ranks in the top 10 in all major receiving categories, but he's perhaps even more talented as a defensive back. / Cris Tiller / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The last player to excel like this on both sides at the highest level of the sport might be the winner of the 1956 Heisman, Paul Hornung of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Hornung was an all-around marvel, leading the Fighting Irish that season in rushing, passing, scoring, kickoff returns, punt returns and punting. He also was second on that team in interceptions and tackles. That extensive list of contributions, coupled with the Notre Dame name, helped Hornung win the Heisman while on a 2–8 team.

He remains the only player to win the Heisman from a losing team. Maybe Hunter is Hornung all over again.

Colorado is 2–1 and a flawed team. While it’s too early to make declarative judgments on the Buffaloes’ season arc, they do not currently bear the look of a Big 12 Conference title contender. If Colorado loses more games than it wins again this season, will that disqualify Hunter from Heisman consideration? It shouldn’t, but the voting body has become rather rigid.

It might also be an unsustainable pace over the course of a full season. But Hunter did play more than 1,100 snaps last season in nine games, an average of 122 per game. If he can do that and continue to excel, it will be time for Heisman voters to break their modern formula. 

Of course, if they insist on statistically proficient quarterbacks on prominent teams, we have those to choose from as well: 

Jalen Milroe (24), Alabama Crimson Tide. He finished sixth in the voting last season and is off to a strong start under new coach Kalen DeBoer. Milroe has led the Crimson Tide to a 3–0 start while ranking third nationally in pass efficiency at 213.39. He’s also run for 156 yards and six touchdowns. Millroe hasn’t thrown an interception in his last seven games.

Cam Ward (25), Miami Hurricanes. Ward is looking like the Transfer of the Year so far, leading the Hurricanes to a 3–0 start while ranking fourth nationally in pass efficiency at 209.25. His 11 touchdown passes lead the nation. 

Ward, a transfer from Washington State, leads the country in passing touchdowns for Miami. / Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Jaxson Dart (26), Ole Miss Rebels. The Rebels are undefeated and largely unchallenged. Dart leads the nation in passing yards per game at 390.7 and is second in efficiency (222.56) and completion percentage (83%). If Lane Kiffin has the opportunity to get a player in the Heisman mix, rest assured he will maximize it. 

If voters want a few other QBs who could be in the mix for the long haul, we have those: 

Dillon Gabriel (27), Oregon Ducks. It took a couple of games, but the Ducks’ offense clicked Saturday against the Oregon State Beavers. Gabriel was masterful, throwing pinpoint passes to an array of excellent receivers and adding a 54-yard touchdown run as well. Gabriel leads the nation with an 84% completion percentage. 

Nico Iamaleava (28), Tennessee Volunteers. He’s 12th nationally in pass efficiency in his first season as a starter, and he’s also rushed for 102 yards and a touchdown on just 17 carries. He played only 1½ quarters in the Volunteers’ 71–0 embarrassment of the Kent State Golden Flashes, tamping down his numbers a bit. He should get to play a full game at the Oklahoma Sooners on Saturday.

The Texas Longhorns quarterback (29). Presumably this will be Quinn Ewers most of the rest of the way, even if he misses the Longhorns’ game Saturday against the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks after an abdominal strain Saturday against the UTSA Roadrunners. He’s expected back. But if for some reason the injury keeps him out longer, celebrated backup Arch Manning is looking every bit as good as advertised—maybe even better.

In relief of the injured Ewers, Manning completed 9-of-12 passes for 223 yards and four touchdowns—a downright silly 341.10 efficiency rating. He also ran 67 yards for a touchdown. Basically, Manning was the best of Vince Young and Colt McCoy in a single outing—admittedly against an inferior opponent. But if you want to appreciate a breakdown of what Manning showed, longtime former NFL quarterback Chase Daniel supplied it here. 

Or, if you want the national leader in efficiency, who also led the biggest upset of the season, we have him: 

Ethan Hampton (30), Northern Illinois Huskies. Why not? Hampton’s 235.86 efficiency rating is more than 10 points ahead of Dart’s, and while most of that came in an opening rout of the FCS Western Illinois Leathernecks, he also made some big plays in NIU’s titanic shocking of Notre Dame. Just in case Hampton can sustain that efficiency, keep an eye on him.

Manning excelled in relief of an injured Ewers over the weekend and may enter the Heisman race if the Longhorns starter has to miss extended time. / Aaron E. Martinez/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Other non-quarterbacks to consider: 

Ashton Jeanty (31), Boise State Broncos running back. The nation’s leading rusher at 229.5 yards per game is also the only back to average more than 10 yards per carry on 25 or more attempts. Jeanty’s nine rushing touchdowns also are tied for the national lead. Hopefully Jeanty and the Broncos get to play this weekend against an FCS opponent, the Portland State Vikings, which is dealing with an old-school whooping cough malady. 

Tetairoa McMillan (32), Arizona Wildcats wide receiver. McMillan began the season with an outrageous performance against the New Mexico Lobos, catching 10 passes for 304 yards and four touchdowns. That strangely was followed by just two catches on six targets for 11 yards against the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks, but he was back in heavy rotation vs. the Kansas State Wildcats last week. McMillan had a career-high-tying 11 catches for 138 yards but didn’t score in a loss to the Wildcats.