Travis Hunter, the two-way sensation from Colorado, is +3500 to win the Heisman Trophy at BetMGM Starting Monday morning.
That ranks him 12th overall, behind a host of quarterbacks including Cam Ward (Miami), Jaxson Dart (Ole Miss), Jalen Milroe (Alabama) and even Arch Manning (Texas), who hasn’t started a game this season.
The Las Vegas odds are a prediction of the future — and an incentive for gamblers — not a referendum on who really is the “nation’s most outstanding player,” as the Heisman asks voters to choose.
As such, the long odds are more of an indictment of the brainless lemmings voting for the Heisman than of Hunter’s actual performance on the field.
They have to be.
Keep in mind that Hunter currently ranks second nationally in receptions (30), second in receiving touchdowns (5) and seventh in receiving yards (342)… and yet he’s probably even better as a cornerback.
Hunter’s ball-covering skills, reactive athleticism and willingness to deliver powerful hits make opposing offenses wary of testing him. Still, he has recorded one interception, two pass deflections and 11 tackles.
He’s a true full-time star who plays on both sides of the ball; a first-round NFL prospect at both positions. He’s not simply a defensive back who can make some clever plays on offense, which would be pretty impressive. He’s also not a great athlete who’s forced to work two jobs because of injuries.
This is the Buffaloes’ plan.
He literally almost never leaves the field, occupying two starting positions.
He played 129 snaps against North Dakota State, 126 against Nebraska and 123 more in a win Saturday over Colorado State.
He’s unlike any other player in at least a generation. In 2002, wide receiver/defensive back Chris Gamble played both positions at Ohio State, an incredible accomplishment. However — and this isn’t a slight, just a comparison — Gamble only started at both positions in five games and only logged more than 100 snaps three times that season.
Hunter tries to do it every week.
He echoes the names of Gordie Lockbaum, who played at Holy Cross in the 1980s, and Paul Hornung, who was at Notre Dame in the 1950s. These were different levels of football and different eras and simply nothing like what’s happening today. Still, despite playing at the I-AA level, Lockbaum finished fifth in the 1986 Heisman race and third in 1987. Hornung won in 1956 even though Notre Dame finished just 2-8.
Yet here’s Travis Hunter, a true one-off, and he’s ranked 12th in the Heisman odds.
Maybe Las Vegas is protecting itself against injuries, especially considering the 120 plays per game, though that would apply to anyone. Same with a slump in play; good luck with that, by the way.
In fact, the odds suggest that voters can’t be trusted to truly see the history and genius unfolding in front of them and will instead fall into the same pattern of looking for a quarterback with big stats, preferably on a playoff team.
Maybe BetMGM is right, but how could anyone dismiss this? If Hunter keeps doing what he’s doing against a Big 12 schedule and someone honestly sits down and fills in someone else’s name as the most outstanding player, then he needs to get his eyes tested.
Maybe the odds reflect a potential voter backlash against Colorado. Who knows? Even if someone is so set in their ways that they don’t like Deion Sanders or they don’t like Shedeur Sanders or they don’t like the way the program is run, so what? It also doesn’t matter if CU only wins five or six games and isn’t a title contender.
That is not the purpose of the award.
I have nothing against great quarterbacks in college football, but there are always great quarterbacks in college football. I have nothing against being the best player on the best team, but there is always a better player on the best team.
What you don’t always get is a guy who is both one of the best receivers and one of the best defensive backs in the country… at the same time.
That should be enough to make Travis Hunter the Heisman winner, unless, as Las Vegas seems to predict, voters can’t get out of their own way.