Strike 1: Travis Hunter should not win the Heisman Trophy.
America’s most prestigious individual award is given every year to the nation’s “Most Outstanding” College Football Player for that single season. The Heisman folks leave it up to the voters to determine what “most outstanding” means to them.
By any reasonable definition, Hunter is not even the MOP on the Colorado Buffaloes this year.
That’s not what most CU fans want to hear, but it’s the truth. Here’s why:
While Hunter is an amazing athlete/football player, pure athleticism is not part of the voting process (just like it’s not in the NBA, or Nikola Jokic would lose out to Anthony Edwards every year.) Hunter can make head shaking, remarkable plays, and does, two or three times a game.
Another thing that doesn’t matter: The number of snaps played.
Playing on both sides of the ball is a coach’s decision. More players could do it, but only Deion Sanders has opted to use a player that way on more than an occasional basis. The fact that Hunter is so good at both positions is another testimony to his fantastic athleticism. And he’ll be a wonderful pro, too (at one position.) But that’s not part of the voting criteria either.
While cumulative statistics are not the only factor in determining who is the “most outstanding,” they do play a more significant role than a handful of highlight reel moments.
Hunter’s season-long statistics are not even close to being Heisman worthy.
With one week to play, Hunter is seventh in the country in receiving yards, despite his head coach’s acknowledged penchant for “stat padding” (and wait until we see what Deion does in that regard against lowly Oklahoma State, regardless of the score. He might have his offense try to throw the ball to Hunter on every single play.)
At the moment, Hunter is not even tops in the Big 12. He has the most targets in the conference, but is 32nd in average yards per reception, which is third on his own team. He does lead the conference in TD catches, so there’s that.
Pro Football Focus rates Hunter the 15th best receiver in the country, number six in the Big 12.
On defense, Hunter’s three interceptions have him tied for 31st in the country. He doesn’t get tested a lot because he’s so good. But there are plenty of cornerbacks in college football you can also say that about. None of them are Heisman candidates.
Let’s contrast Hunter’s numbers with CU’s quarterback, Shedeur Sanders. Shedeur is fifth in the country in passing yardage and fourth in completion percentage despite having virtually no running game to be able to help lessen his load. Sanders has been sacked nine more times than any other QB in the top 10, and spends a lot of time running for his life behind a leaky offensive line. Still, he’s thrown for almost 3,500 yards (with a game to go, and there will be that stat padding on Friday) 30 touchdowns (and counting) against just 7 interceptions. His QBR is close to 80.0.
To an objective observer who’s not caught up in the “two-way player” hype: Which player, Hunter or Sanders, is having the better season?
Again, “most outstanding” is in the eye of the beholder/voter. But ask yourself this: Which player could CU least afford to lose and still be in the hunt for the Big 12 title?
The answers are simple. It’s clearly Shedeur, and it’s not close.
All that being said, there’s something else to consider: Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty has 2,062 rushing yards with three games left to play, including what’s likely to be a spot in the College Football Playoffs. Jeanty’s on pace to break Barry Sanders’ all-time college football single season rushing record.
And before you start yelling about Boise’s schedule, they’ve played top-ranked Oregon (Jeanty had 192 yards and three TD’s against the Ducks) and beaten nationally ranked Washington State. Colorado has yet to play a ranked team, much less defeat one. After this weekend, the two team’s strength of schedule ranking will end up being very close.
It might not be a quarterback to win the Heisman this season as it typically is, but nonetheless the Most Outstanding Player on the Colorado Buffaloes is quarterback Shedeur Sanders. He belongs in New York for the Heisman presentation, not one of his wide receivers.
