Travis Hunter vs. Ashton Jeanty: An all-time great Heisman race

• Travis Hunter redefined what we thought was possible: The Colorado two-way star was a PFF All-American at wide receiver and cornerback this season.

• Ashton Jeanty is shattering records: The Boise State running back has set numerous rushing records so far and still has at least one playoff game to go.

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Estimated Reading Time: 5 minutes

The 2024 college football season will be remembered for many things. It kicked off a new era of conference realignment. The SEC/Big Ten/Big 12/ACC added at least three schools each while the Pac-12 is essentially dormant. It’s also the first year of the 12-team College Football Playoff, tripling the previous format’s size. 

It’ll also go down for having one of the greatest Heisman Trophy races of all time between Colorado wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter and Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty, one that has started virtual wars on social media. Before the winner is crowned on Saturday night, let’s take a step back and appreciate the historic seasons each of them had.

Travis Hunter: The greatest two-way player ever

We’ve never seen a Travis Hunter before and may never again. He’s a full-time starter at both wide receiver and cornerback for the Buffaloes and not only that, he’s a superstar at both. He leads the Power Four with 14 receiving touchdowns this season while his 1,152 receiving yards are third in that group. The junior’s 86.2 offensive grade is fifth among all wideouts in the nation.

On defense, Hunter’s 90.9 coverage grade is third among all corners in the country. His 42.0 passer rating allowed is ninth among Power Four corners while his four interceptions are tied for fourth in that same group. 

It’s normal for elite athletes like Hunter to play and star on both sides of the football in high school. However, once they enter college, 99.9% stick to one side of the ball over the other. There are simply too many good players to warrant someone playing both sides. And if someone played on both sides of the ball, they wouldn’t be expected to be very good at both. The physical toll of 1,487 snaps would exhaust most players, especially when most starters are playing about one-third of that. It’s also incredibly hard to have to master two different playbooks and execute your assignment at a high level. 

And yet, Hunter was a PFF All-American at both wide receiver and cornerback. He’s so good at both that he’s the top prospect on PFF’s 2025 draft big board for the simple fact that he might be able to continue playing both ways at the highest level of football in the NFL.

Ashton Jeanty: Record-shattering season for a running back

Jeanty is having one of the greatest seasons we’ve ever seen from a collegiate running back, whether it be by the traditional stats or PFF’s advanced metrics. His 2,497 rushing yards are 131 from Barry Sanders’ single-season FBS record while his 29 rushing touchdowns are tied for sixth all-time. Jeanty’s also already set numerous PFF College records.

Ashton Jeanty’s historic 2024 season in the PFF College era (Since 2014)

Jeanty’s 1,882 yards after contact are 222 more than any other FBS running back’s total rushing yards this season. He’s carried the Broncos to the College Football Playoff and a first-round bye, something nobody thought a Group of Five school would obtain in the 12-team era. Keep in mind that he still has at least one playoff game to add to his ridiculous campaign and potentially break Sanders’ records.

Hunter and Jeanty are having such historic seasons that even trying to poke holes in one’s campaign lead to ridiculous points being thrown out from the opposing side. For example, saying “snaps aren’t a stat” for Hunter as if he’s not a top-five wide receiver and cornerback in the nation. Or arguing Jeanty’s only putting up these absurd numbers because he plays in the Mountain West, as if he didn’t rush for 192 yards and three touchdowns on the No. 1 team in the country in Oregon.

Instead of tearing down one all-time great to make the case for the other, we should all be appreciating the greatness we’re witnessing from these two players. There truly is no wrong answer between the two. In fact, one can make the argument that Hunter/Jeanty would’ve won the trophy in many previous years.

The fact that the 2024 Heisman Trophy race will go down as an all-timer without a quarterback being involved just illustrates how absurd Hunter and Jeanty have been this season. The winner of the stiff-arm trophy on Saturday night will be immortalized forever, while the loser will rightfully be wondering what else he could’ve done. 

Regardless, both players cemented themselves as all-time greats and their 2024 seasons will be talked about for years to come.