Almost a full month before Travis Hunter walked into Amon G. Carter Stadium as a 21-point underdog against ranked TCU and walked out as one of the brightest stars in college football, the Colorado sophomore tried to tip off the public of his impending Heisman candidacy.
It was an Aug. 5 Instagram post, and alongside a photo of himself in full uniform, Hunter posted a caption that simply read, “HEISMAN LOADING…”
He doubled-down a few weeks later, in the first episode of his live Bleacher Report show, 12 Talks, listing himself first in a ranking of Heisman candidates for the new season: “Both sides of the ball. I’m going for it all,” Hunter said. “Gots to. Sophomore year. Like I said on Instagram, Heisman loading. That’s my goal.”
Travis Hunter puts Caleb Williams No. 3 in his Heisman rankings 👀
1. Travis Hunter
2. Shedeur Sanders
3. Caleb Williams pic.twitter.com/XSgBhcUv9U— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) August 29, 2023
Call it manifesting his dreams or projecting confidence himself, but Hunter obviously knew something the rest of us didn’t. He even had teammate Shedeur Sanders No. 2 in his rankings. Both went on to show the world what Jackson State fans already knew.
Hunter backed up his words with his play, catching 11 passes for 119 yards at wide receiver and grabbing a remarkable interception as a cornerback, sending his Heisman odds skyrocketing from 100-1 to 40-1 in a matter of hours. Now they’re at 25-1, making him the only non-QB with top-15 odds at DraftKings.
Far behind leaders Caleb Williams, Michel Penix Jr. and others, there’s still plenty of value left for bettors who believe Hunter’s remarkable skills on both sides of the ball will make a difference for voters. But Hunter’s position is exactly why he remains a risky bet.
The Heisman has largely become a quarterback award over the last two decades — QBs have won 19 of 23 times since 2000. Only once in that same span has a receiver won the award (DeVonta Smith in 2020), and the only time a cornerback won was Charles Woodson in 1997. Like Hunter, Woodson did more than just play cornerback.
However, Woodson’s play also helped Michigan win a national championship. And that’s the part where Hunter faces maybe the largest uphill battle. In a Pac-12 conference where so many of the other Heisman candidates play on teams projected to finish higher than Colorado, it may be hard for voters to choose Hunter over Williams, Penix or even Bo Nix if those players have phenomenal seasons AND lead their teams to wins over Colorado or finish higher in the standings.
After their win over TCU, the Buffaloes are No. 25 in the latest AP rankings, trailing No. 6 USC, No. 8 Washington and No. 13 Oregon. Even if they continue to stun the world and climb higher, Hunter’s competition then becomes Sanders, who will undoubtedly play a major role in that too. That’s before we get to other candidates outside the Pac-12.
The novelty of what Hunter is doing would be hard to ignore, especially if he’s able to continue playing both sides of the ball so effectively. And that’s what makes him worth a long-shot bet now. But I wouldn’t start taking his chances too seriously until after Colorado’s Week 4 meeting with Oregon. That’s when we’ll know just how real they are.
