Travis Hunter Is SI’s 2024 Breakout Star of the Year

What Travis Hunter does on a football field is attributable to athleticism, stamina and versatility. But more than that, it is a testament to sheer audacity. Who else would have the guts to even try it?

“I think my confidence is why I can do it,” Hunter says. “I’m super confident.”

In a two-platoon, hyperspecialized football world, the Colorado junior had the self-assurance to believe he could excel at both wide receiver and defensive back. He paired that self-belief with the perfect coach in Deion Sanders, himself a multipurpose football player and two-sport professional athlete who refused to have limitations placed upon him. And then Hunter went out and did it, producing on both sides of the ball in a way that hasn’t been done at the highest level of the sport in about 70 years.

Between then and now, a lot of all-time greats have dabbled in playing both ways—Chris Gamble at Ohio State, Champ Bailey at Georgia, and Charles Woodson at Michigan, to name a few. (Sanders himself played both ways as a pro.) But the last player who excelled at multiple positions to a Heisman Trophy-winning degree might have been Paul Hornung, the former Notre Dame quarterback, running back, safety and kicker who was selected first in the 1957 NFL draft. Fittingly, Hunter is the first two-time recipient of the Paul Hornung Award—given to the most versatile player in college football—winning in 2023 and ’24. And now he’s added the Heisman to his trophy case, after following the unconventional path Sanders laid out for him.

Hunter and Sanders — Colorado head coach Deion Sanders has consistently supported and guided Hunter throughout his career. | Ric Tapia/Getty Images

Hunter did not have it easy growing up, moving from Florida to Lawrenceville, Ga., in high school and living with five family members in a single room at an extended-stay hotel. Later during his time at Collins Hill High in Suwanee, Hunter spent more than a year living with an assistant coach. Those periods of instability did not derail his football dreams or shake his faith in his family.

His eyes welled with tears when he spoke about his father, Travis Hunter Sr., who was not present at the Heisman Trophy ceremony. “Dad, I love you,” Hunter said. “All the stuff you went through ... look at your oldest son. I did it for you, man.”

The Heisman has become increasingly formulaic in recent years, dominated by quarterbacks with big stats on name-brand teams that are in the national championship chase. Then came 2024, when the formula was tossed aside. Here came a running back from Boise State, Ashton Jeanty, and here came a receiver/cornerback from Colorado. The two-man race went to the two-way wonder. Hunter earned it by taking his game to a new level offensively, a leap that makes him Sports Illustrated’s Breakout Star of the Year.

While maintaining his prowess as one of the best cornerbacks in college football, he became a much more productive receiver. In 2024, he ranked fifth nationally in receptions with 92, sixth in yards receiving (1,152) and second in touchdown catches (14). He is unquestionably elite at two different things.

Hunter celebrations — Hunter is following in the footsteps of his coach with both his dynamic play and his knack for epic touchdown celebrations. | Dustin Bradford/Getty Images

Hunter’s workload was mind-boggling and perfectly balanced. In 12 regular-season games, he played 670 snaps on offense and 686 on defense; he was the only FBS player with 150-plus snaps on both sides of the ball. (The only disparity in his two-way play is on the Colorado depth chart, which lists wide receiver Travis Hunter as 6' 1", 190 pounds, and cornerback Travis Hunter as 6' 1", 185.)

Even more impressive: Hunter is not some dainty skill-position guy who shies away from contact. He is all business when it comes to tackling—he saved a victory over Baylor in September with a goal-line hit in overtime that caused a fumble—and he will throw himself into harm’s way to make a catch as well.

So how does his body feel on Sundays, after marathon duty the day before? “I feel I can go play another game the next day,” he says.

With Hunter in an even bigger role, Colorado was a much better team in ’24 than it was in Year 1 of the Coach Prime Experiment. The mold-breaking hype that accompanied a celebrity coach’s hire, coupled with the Buffaloes’ 3–0 start last year, pivoted the entire sport’s attention to Boulder—and then the bottom fell out. Colorado finished 4–8, and the Deion Doubters had a field day.

But Sanders came back smarter in Year 2, with a better staff and roster, and the result was a breakthrough season for the Buffs. They stayed in the Big 12 championship race until the very end, and went to the Alamo Bowl, their first bowl game since 2020. Colorado’s investment in a nonconformist approach to program building was paid off in full.

“I’m not going to let anyone tell me that I can’t do something that I’ve already done."
Travis Hunter

Along the way, the program produced two legitimate stars and likely first-round NFL draft picks. The one with the ball in his hands all the time was quarterback Shedeur Sanders, son of Prime, who has risen to the top of a fairly uninspiring 2025 NFL quarterback class. But the one who never left the field—and could be picked as high as No. 1 in the spring—is Hunter. And guess what? He wants to play both ways at the next level, too. Which would really be breaking the mold.

“I’m not going to let anyone tell me that I can’t do something that I’ve already done,” Hunter says. “There’s a lot of people telling me I can’t do it in the NFL, but I’m going to still do it in the NFL.”

Hunter has never been one to let conventional wisdom derail his plans. Every major program in the country was trying to land the nation’s No. 1 recruit in the class of 2022. After originally committing to Florida State, Hunter shocked the recruiting world by joining Sanders at FCS Jackson State.

He made an immediate impact there, then joined the Sanders bandwagon in Boulder—and kept doing the same things, with a bigger spotlight. Now that he’s made college football history and positioned himself to make waves in the NFL, it’s fair to wonder whether Hunter has paved a path for more two-way players in the future.

“I definitely think I opened some doors, but it is going to be hard to squeeze inside the door because I’m the only person that’s ever done it,” he says. “I have a different type of mindset where I don’t go out, I don’t drink, I don’t do none of the extra stuff. I go home, chill with my fiancée, play the video games, doing stuff like that to keep me out of trouble and keep my head in the right space.”

Travis Hunter’s head is in the right place while his feet are all over the place. The two-way wonder of college football isn’t tired yet. If the NFL opened its collective mind to the possibilities, he might just be getting started.