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Colorado’s Travis Hunter Makes Bold Case for Why He Deserves Heisman Over Ashton Jeanty

Kristen Wong

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Colorado Buffaloes star Travis Hunter seems to have a bone to pick with Heisman candidates who are enjoying statistically dominant seasons.

Hunter hopped on Robert Griffin’s podcast, Outta Pocket with RGIII, on Tuesday to discuss the Buffaloes’ campaign thus far, and he stated his case for why he thought he deserved the Heisman Trophy over, say, Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty.

“I know I can win it, but I don’t know who’s there,” Hunter said. “I mean, y’all see Ashton Jeanty, but it’s not like we haven’t seen a running back that’s good. We haven’t seen a player that plays both ways, and I’m going to keep saying that.”

Hunter went on to describe his impact on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball.

“(Jeanty) has, I think, 95 carries for 1,000 yards,” continued Hunter. “If I had 95 catches, how much yards you think I’d have? If I had 95 targets on defense, what you think I’d have?... So I try to tell you, he’s got double the touches I’ve got on the offensive side of the ball, and I still have defensive stats that’s still crazy, and we’re only in Week 6. So I’m not gonna argue about it.”

True to Hunter’s point, there have been many great running backs in college football lore— perhaps none as dominant as Jeanty.

The Boise State running back has racked up 1,248 rushing yards and 17 rushing touchdowns through six games this season, averaging a whopping 9.9 yards per carry. 

By comparison, Hunter’s stats don’t jump off the page as much. The Colorado two-way star has hauled in 49 catches for 587 yards and six touchdowns while also adding two picks, three pass breakups and a forced fumble across his first six games in the Big 12.

There’s still plenty of football left to be played in the season, giving Hunter the chance to put his money where his mouth is and prove to Heisman voters why he’s deserving of the prize more so than anybody else.

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Kristen Wong
KRISTEN WONG

Kristen Wong is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. She has been a sports journalist since 2020. Before joining SI in November 2023, Wong covered four NFL teams as an associate editor with the FanSided NFL Network and worked as a staff writer for the brand’s flagship site. Outside of work, she has dreams of running her own sporty dive bar.

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