Colorado's Travis Hunter wins Paul Hornung Award as college football's most versatile player
Though Colorado stumbled late during the 2023 college football season, finishing 4-8 following a 3-0 start and a top-20 ranking in the US LBM Coaches Poll, Travis Hunter remained as captivating, exciting and talented of a player as there was in the sport this season.
On Wednesday, the former Jackson State standout was rewarded for that excellence.
Hunter, a sophomore cornerback and wide receiver for the Buffaloes, was named this year’s recipient of the Paul Hornung Award, which is given annually to the most versatile player in college football.
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“Travis is a special player, a generational player, who has changed the game,” Colorado coach and former Jackson State coach Deion Sanders said in a statement. “We had to find ways to utilize him to the best of his ability on both sides of the ball, where he could utilize his strengths and be a force. Thank you to the award committee for seeing in Travis what we do, not only that he’s a tremendous player, but also a tremendous person. Travis hasn't reached his full potential as of yet and his best is still coming!”
Here’s more about the award and Hunter’s season:
What is the Paul Hornung Award?
The Paul Hornung Award is named after the former Notre Dame Heisman Trophy winner, who went on to a Hall of Fame NFL career with the Green Bay Packers. It is given out annually by the Louisville Sports Commission in Hornung’s hometown of Louisville, Kentucky.
The versatility it seeks to honor was embodied by the award’s namesake. Hornung was a do-everything star for Notre Dame in the mid-1950s. As a senior in 1956, he rushed for 420 yards and threw for 917 yards and three touchdowns. That season, he accounted for more than half of the Fighting Irish’s scoring. On defense, he led the team in pass breakups and was second in interceptions and tackles. Additionally, he was the team’s punter, punt returner and kickoff returner.
All of those contributions were enough to give Hornung the Heisman Trophy over, among others, Syracuse’s Jim Brown and Tennessee’s Johnny Majors (despite Notre Dame’s 2-8 record). He’s the only Heisman winner to have played for a team with a losing record the season he won the award.
“Paul Hornung accomplished great things that I also want to accomplish, and to be given the award in his name is truly amazing,” Hunter said in a statement. “I’d like to thank all my teammates for their support and Coach Prime for the opportunity to play both ways and do whatever I can to help the Colorado Buffaloes.”
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Travis Hunter stats
After playing well for Jackson State during an injury-plagued freshman season in 2022, Hunter had little, if any, trouble acclimating to the FBS and Power Five levels.
Hunter, the No. 1 recruit nationally in the 2022 class, ended the season with 57 receptions for 721 yards and five touchdowns on offense. He also recorded 30 tackles, three interceptions and five pass breakups on defense. As a wide receiver, he averaged 6.3 catches and 80.1 yards per game.
He is the first player in at least the past 25 seasons with at least 50 receptions and three interceptions. In 1998, Georgia star Champ Bailey, a future Pro Football Hall of Famer, played both ways and finished with 47 catches for 744 yards and five touchdowns on offense and three interceptions on defense.
Despite missing three-and-a-half games due to injury, Hunter played the most snaps from scrimmage among all FBS players during the regular season.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Former Jackson State star Travis Hunter wins Paul Hornung Award
