Colorado's Travis Hunter named 2023 Paul Hornung Award winner

Buffaloes two-way standout gets national recognition for a great season with Coach Prime

CU Buffs

Travis Hunter was named the 2023 Paul Hornung Award winner, per an announcement on Wednesday. The Colorado Buffaloes two-way star picked up the hardware dedicated to college football's most versatile player. 

This comes a day after Hunter earned All-Pac-12 honors on defense and as a specialist. He was one of the best shutdown corners and led the country as the only player with 200+ snaps on both sides of the ball. 

Hunter racked 31 total tackles with five PDUs and 3 INTs on defense. He also added 57 receptions for 721 yards and 5 TDs, despite missing three games with a lacerated liver. 

An outstanding accomplishment in Hunter's first year at Colorado after following Deion Sanders from Jackson State. He's truly the epitome of a generational type of talent and is multi-talented like Hornung was during his time. As a sophomore, Hunter will only improve on his skillset with an NFL ready mindset. CU's leader was arguably the best two-way player to grace the field in the past three decades. 

The 14th winner of the Paul Hornung Award and the fifth from the Pac-12, Hunter played five positions on defense where he averaged 66 snaps per game; he also played four skill positions on offense where he played 50 snaps per game. Despite missing three games due to injury, on offense Hunter finished second on the team with 57 receptions for 721 yards and five touchdowns; on defense, he tied for the team lead with three interceptions, recorded 31 tackles, led the team with five pass deflections and had two tackles for loss. He also played substantial time on special teams.

“I want to thank the Louisville Sports Commission for this Award,” Hunter said. “Paul Hornung accomplished great things that I also want to accomplish, and to be given the award in his name is truly amazing. I’d like to thank all my teammates for their support and Coach Prime for the opportunity to play both ways and do whatever I can to help the Colorado Buffaloes.”

Sanders was effusive in his praise for Hunter. “Travis is a special player, a generational player, who has changed the game,” said Sanders. “We had to find ways to utilize him to the best of his ability on both sides of the ball, where he could utilize his strengths and be a force. Thank you to the Selection Committee for seeing in Travis what we do, not only that he’s a tremendous player, but also a tremendous person. Travis hasn’t reached his full potential as of yet, and his best is still to come.”