IRVING, Texas –Travis Hunter, BJ Green II, and Shedeur Sanders all took home Player of the Year awards and were a part of 13 Colorado Buffaloes given Big 12 honors by the league’s head coaches, it was announced Thursday.
Travis Hunter continues to add awards and honors to his collection with Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, becoming Colorado’s first Conference DPOY since Jordon Dizon in 2007. Hunter was also named a Unanimous First Team selection at defensive back one of only two players to earn the distinction this season. On the offensive side of the ball, Hunter was named All-Big 12 First Team as a wide receiver and was an Honorable Mention for Offensive Player of the Year.
All of these come after he put up a staggering 31 tackles, 11 pass breakups tied for first in the Big 12, four interceptions tied for second in the Big 12, 15 passes defended ranked first in the Big 12, and a game-winning forced fumble on defense. Offensively he recorded 92 receptions and ranked first in the Big 12 and fifth in the NCAA, with 1,152 receiving yards which is second in the Big 12 and fifth in the country, 14 receiving touchdowns to lead the conference and is second in the NCAA, and 21 receiving plays of 20 yards or more which leads the entire country.
Shedeur Sanders took home the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year and All-Big 12 First Team Quarterback spot after rewriting the Colorado record book this season. Sanders ranked first in the country in completions percentage at 74.2%, second in completions with 367, third in passing yards, and second in the NCAA with 35 passing touchdowns.
Sanders finished the regular season going 338-of-454, 74.4%, for 3,936 yards, 35 TDs, 8 INT, and QBR 169.2. A few of the records he has broken this season:
• He set the new CU record for passing yards, having already held the record for yards in a regular season, surpassing Koy Detmer’s record of 3,527 set in 1996.
• He set a new CU record for completions in a season, surpassing Sefo Liufau’s total of 325 in 2014.
• He extended his CU record for passing touchdowns to 35 and touchdowns responsible for to 39.
• His completion percentage of 74.4 is on pace to break his own record of 69.3 set last season.
• His QB rating of 169.2 is on pace to break his own school record of 152.7 set last season.
With Hunter and Sanders taking home both the Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year, this marks only the third time in school history claiming both. The other two times were in back-to-back years in 1989 and 1990 when Darian Hagan and Alfred Williams took them home in 1989 and Eric Bieniemy and Alfred Williams in 1990.
BJ Green II, in his first season at Colorado, took home the Defensive Newcomer of the Year. After spending his first three seasons of college at Arizona State, Green transferred in and made an immediate impact on the defensive line. Finishing with 30 tackles, 19 unassisted tackles, 12 tackles for loss, seven-and-a-half sacks, two forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery.
He finished the regular season second in the Big 12 and 29th in the country. After not recording a sack in the first four games of the season, he finished seven of the last eight games with at least half a sack. In addition to his sacks, he ended the season ranked third in the Big 12 with 12 tackles for loss. Green is the first player to win Defensive Newcomer of the Year since Jordon Dizon in 2004.
With three players taking home a Conference Player of the Year Award, this ties the school record for most in a single season done in 1990.
Nikhai Hill-Green was named All-Big 12 Second Team at linebacker after finishing the season with 82 tackles, 53 unassisted tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss, four pass breakups, two interceptions, and two sacks. He ranked 13th in the conference in tackles, 5th in solo tackles, and fourth in tackles for loss.
Nine other players were named to the All-Big 12 Honorable Mention this season.
Preston Hodge recorded 33 tackles, 21 unassisted tackles, seven pass breakups, and two interceptions. His seven pass breakups are tied for ninth in the Big 12 despite missing the final three games of the season.
Alejandro Mata scored a career-high 89 points, making all 53 of his extra points. He finished the season going 12-14 on field goals, making 10 consecutive to end the regular season.
Taje McCoy, in his first season seeing consistent playing time, made some big plays for Colorado. He ended the season with 20 tackles, three sacks, three tackles for loss, and two quarterback hurries. All three of his sacks came on third downs to force teams to punt the ball.
DJ McKinney finished the regular season leading the Big 12 cornerbacks with 60 tackles. He also added 11 passes defended, which ranked sixth in the conference, nine pass breakups tied for fourth in the Big 12, three tackles for loss, two interceptions, one fumble recovery, and one forced fumble. In the last game against Oklahoma State, he recorded his first career pick-six against his former team.
Chidozie Nwankwo was a staple in the middle of the defense this season, ending with 25 tackles, 16 unassisted, three tackles for loss, one-and-a-half sacks, and one fumble recovery. The numbers don’t tell the whole story; playing inside, he made everyone’s job easier behind him by holding down the middle and taking on blocks which is why he was not only an Honorable Mention at Defensive Line, but also for Defensive Lineman of the Year.
Jordan Seaton came to Colorado with a lot of hype and attention, and he has lived up to the hype. He was an Honorable Mention for Offensive Freshman of the Year after playing a team-leading 767 snaps on the offensive line only giving up three sacks and four quarterback hits on 578 pass blocking snaps. He did not give up a sack in the last seven games of the season according to PFF.
Cam’Ron Silmon-Craig was often described as the heartbeat of the defense, and he delivered every week. He was the team-leading tackler with 88, 64 unassisted tackles, eight-and-a-half tackles for loss, six quarterback hurries, three pass breakups, two sacks, and two fumble recoveries including his 95-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown against UCF which is tied for the second-longest fumble return in CU history.
Mark Vassett averaged 43. 8 yards per punt on 49 attempts. He finished the season with 19 inside the 20, only two touchbacks, and a NET average of 37.7 yards per punt.
LaJohntay Wester, in his first and only season at Colorado, made his mark finishing the season with 70 receptions for 880 yards and 10 touchdowns receiving and a punt return touchdown. He is now in the record books for this season as his 70 receptions are ninth all-time at CU, his 880 yards rank 15th and 10 touchdowns rank fourth. His 322 career catches rank tied for sixth in FBS history. He was an Honorable Mention for Offensive Newcomer of the Year.
Along with all the Big 12 honors, Sanders was named a finalist for the Manning Award, sponsored by the Allstate Sugar Bowl. The winner will be announced after the College Football Playoff National Championship in January.
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Story by Aiden Tank, for CUBuffs.com. Content courtesy of the University of Colorado at Boulder.