The 2024 Heisman Trophy The finalists were announced on Monday and two frontrunners are officially in the mix.
Colorado’s two-way star Travis Hunter and Boise State’s running back Ashton Jeanty are considered the two favorites to win the award, while Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel and Miami’s Cam Ward round out the quartet.
This was an exciting college football season in the first year of the expanded College Football Playoff. But while his Buffaloes won’t be playing for a national title, Hunter’s efforts alongside potential first overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, Shedeur Sanders, have led to a successful season in Colorado.
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Colorado wide receiver Travis Hunter (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Hunter is the heavy favorite to win the Heisman simply because he does something no one in college football does: play on both sides of the ball.
Hunter played full-time on offense and defense, and he finished in the top five in receptions, receiving yards, receiving touchdowns and passes defended. Pro Football Focus also gave him the highest coverage grade this season.
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On offense, Hunter had 92 receptions for 1,152 yards and 14 receiving touchdowns over 12 games, averaging 96.0 yards through the air per game. And on defense, he defended 11 passes while collecting four interceptions and 32 combined tackles in the same stretch of games.
Despite Hunter being the overwhelming favorite, it was simply amazing to watch Jeanty lead the Broncos all the way to a Mountain West Conference title while earning a bye in the College Football Playoff as the No. 3 seed.
Boise State Broncos running back Ashton Jeanty (Brian Losness-Imagn Images)
Jeanty led college football in rushing yards (2,497), rushing touchdowns (29), total touchdowns (30) and rushing attempts (344), as the Broncos’ offense really ran through the junior, who is also expected to be a first-rounder . April.
His argument for winning the award over Hunter is the fact that he took a Group of Five school to a CFP day in his historic season. If he breaks Barry Sanders’ all-time record (2,628), who knows what the vote will look like.
But there is only one No. 1 seed in the CFP this year, and Gabriel’s ducks Is it because his sixth collegiate season has led to more elite production.
Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel (AP Photo/Jose Juarez)
Gabriel had 3,558 passing yards and 28 passing touchdowns on his 297 attempts through the air to help the Ducks to an undefeated regular season at 13-0.
The Hawaii native’s best game came against No. 2 Ohio State, where he passed for 341 yards and had three total touchdowns, proving Oregon was the team to beat in the Big Ten in the conference’s inaugural season. Oregon went on to beat Penn State to win the Big Ten, and now they look for an undefeated season with a national title attached to it.
Ward, another potential first overall selection in 2025, is about as cool and collected as a quarterback can get, which has led to numerous wins for the Hurricanes this season.
Miami quarterback Cam Ward (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
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He’s also a fantastic college football story, starting at Incarnate Word out of high school, his only offer, and eventually leading college football with 36 passing touchdowns and finishing second with 4,123 passing yards this year.
Miami failed to make the CFP this year, but a case can be made that Ward was the best quarterback in the game this season, earning him a trip to New York.
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