The 2024 Heisman Trophy finalists were announced on Monday. And two front runners have officially been added to the mix.
Colorado two-star Travis Hunter and Boise State’s bruising running back Ashton Jeanty are the two favorites to win the award. Meanwhile, Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel and Miami’s Cam Ward rounded out the top four.
This was an exciting college football season in the first year of the expanded College Football Playoff, but while his Buffaloes weren’t playing for a national title. Hunter’s efforts, along with a possible first overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft like Shader Sanders, have led to a successful season for Colorado.
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Colorado wide receiver Travis Hunter (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Hunter is a strong favorite to win the Heisman. All the while he was doing what no one else in college football could do: play on both sides of the ball.
Hunter plays full time on offense and defense. And he finished in the top five in receptions, receiving yards, receiving touchdowns and passing defense. Pro Football Focus has also given him the highest level of coverage this season as well.
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On offense, Hunter had 92 receptions for 1,152 yards and 14 receiving touchdowns in 12 games, averaging 96.0 yards through the air per game. and in the field of protection He defended 11 times while collecting four interceptions and 32 total interceptions in the same series.
Hunter is the overwhelming favorite, though. But it was encouraging to see Jeanty lead the Broncos to the Mountain West Conference championship while earning a bye in the College Football Playoff as the No. 1 3-seed.
Boise State Broncos Running Back Ashton Jeanty (Brian Losness-Imagn photo)
Jeanty leads college football in rushing yards (2,497), rushing touchdowns (29), total touchdowns (30) and rushing attempts (344), while the Broncos’ offense runs through juniors like Indeed, who is also expected to be a first round entrant in April.
His argument for winning the award over Hunter is the fact that he led a Group of Five school to a CFP bye in his historic season. If he breaks Barry Sanders’ all-time rushing record (2,628), who knows how the vote will shake out.
But there’s only one number. This year’s No. 1 pick in the CFP and Gabriel’s Ducks into his 6th collegiate season has led to even more excellent production.
Dillon Gabriel Quarterback Oregon (AP Photo/Jose Juarez)
Gabriel had 3,558 yards and a touchdown on 28 of his 297 attempts through the air to help the Ducks to an undefeated regular season at 13-0.
The Hawaiian’s best game came against No. 1 2 Ohio State, where he caught 341 passing yards and three total touchdowns, proving that Oregon was the team to beat in the Big Ten in his first season. Oregon conference defeated Penn State to win the Big Ten championship, and now they are looking for an undefeated season with a national title attached to it.
Ward, another first overall pick in 2025, is as cool as any quarterback can be in the pocket. That has led to many come-from-behind victories for the Hurricanes this season.
Cam Ward, Miami quarterback (AP Photo/Lynn Sladky)
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He is also a great college football story. Starting with Incarnate Word since high school. His only offer and ultimately led college football with 36 touchdowns and finished second with 4,123 yards on the year.
Miami failed to make the CFP this year, but it can be argued that Ward has been the best quarterback in the game this season. which led him to New York.
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