Colorado star Travis Hunter continues to make history.
On Wednesday, the Buffaloes’ junior cornerback/receiver was announced as the winner of the Paul Hornung Award, which is presented annually by the Louisville Sports Commission to the most versatile player in major college football.
The other finalists were Isaac Brown of Louisville and Tyler Warren of Penn State.
Hunter won the Hornung in 2023 as well, and is the first two-time winner in the 15-year history of the award.
“I’d like to thank all of my teammates and believe the awards I’m winning are team awards,” Hunter said in a Hornung Award press release. “Especially the Paul Hornung Award for the most versatile player. I couldn’t do it without each of my teammates. I want to thank the Louisville Sports Commission and the Paul Hornung Award voters for blessing me with this award twice. I’d also like to thank Coach Prime for allowing me to do what I do and all the coaches and staff surrounding the CU football team. This is for all of us.”
The award is in honor of the late Hornung, considered one of the greatest all-around players in the history of the sport. At Notre Dame, Hornung starred on offense, defense and special teams as a kicker and punter, winning the Heisman Trophy in 1956. During his 10-year Hall of Fame career with the Green Bay Packers, Hornung was a halfback and kicker.
“Travis is HIM. A one-of-a-kind, once-in-a-lifetime player,” CU head coach Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders said. “Thank you to the selection committee because they saw how special he was last year. This year he took it to another level and the rest of the nation is taking notice, but the Hornung Award and its selectors will be remembered for recognizing it before others. God bless you all.”
This is the second major national award for Hunter this week, as he won the Lott Impact Trophy on Monday, one of the top national defensive player of the year awards.
One of four finalists for the Heisman Trophy, which will be announced on Saturday in New York City, Hunter could collect a lot of hardware this week.
Hunter is also a finalist for the Bednarik Award (top defensive player), Biletnikoff Award (top receiver) and the Maxwell and Walter Camp player of the year awards, which will all be announced Thursday.
Previously named the Big 12 Conference defensive player of the year, Hunter has played 1,360 snaps from scrimmage (113.3 per game), but that number jumps to 1,440 (120 per game) when adding in special teams plays and snaps where a penalty occurred but no official play was counted.
On offense, Hunter has caught 92 passes for 1,152 yards and a school-record 14 touchdowns. He ranks in the top six nationally in all three categories. Hunter also added a rushing touchdown. He also led the nation with 21 plays of 20 yards or more.
Defensively, he is tied for fifth nationally with 15 passes defended (11 pass breakups, four interceptions). He’s also recorded 31 tackles and had a forced fumbled that secured an overtime win against Baylor on Sept. 21.
Also on Wednesday, Hunter was named first-team All-American at cornerback and all-purpose by CBS Sports. He also was named second-team All-American at receiver. CU quarterback Shedeur Sanders received honorable mention.
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