Could Ashton Jeanty pass Travis Hunter for the Heisman? | Before The Snap
Ashton Jeanty and Boise State still have the Mountain West title game, so could Jeanty put up big enough numbers to beat Travis Hunter in the Heisman race?
Colorado’s Travis Hunter is the Big 12 football Player of the Year, as voted on by writers who cover the conference for the USA TODAY Sports Network.
The Buffaloes led the way with four first-team selections, with Hunter pulling double duty as a wide receiver and defensive back.
After Hunter’s three-touchdown performance in a 52-0 rout of Oklahoma State in the regular-season finale on Nov. 29, Colorado coach Deion Sanders called him “the best player in college football.”
Hunter made quite the case for himself.
As a receiver, the Heisman Trophy favorite caught 92 passes for 1,152 yards and 14 touchdowns. At defensive back, Hunter had 31 tackles, four interceptions and a forced fumble.
“Travis Hunter is him,” Sanders said on Nov. 29. “Ain’t nobody can deal with him on either side of the ball.”
While Sanders helped transform the Buffaloes from Pac-12 also-ran to Big 12 contender, going from 4-8 to 9-3 in his second season in Boulder, he missed out on Coach of the Year honors.
Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham, who took the Sun Devils from 3-9 a year ago to 10-2 and a spot in the Big 12 championship game Saturday against Iowa State, was voted Coach of the Year.
Sun Devils quarterback Sam Leavitt was voted Big 12 Newcomer of the Year after passing for 2,444 yards with 21 touchdowns and only five interceptions in his first season after transferring from Michigan State.
Here’s the rest of the 2024 All-Big 12 football team:
Offense
- Quarterback: Shedeur Sanders, Colorado*
- Running back: Cam Skattebo, Arizona State
- Running back: RJ Harvey, UCF
- Wide receiver: Tetairoa McMillan, Arizona
- Wide receiver: Travis Hunter, Colorado*
- Tight end: Brant Kuithe, Utah
- Offensive line: Wyatt Milum, West Virginia*
- Offensive line: Luke Kandra, Cincinnati
- Offensive line: Spencer Fano, Utah
- Offensive line: Caleb Etienne, BYU
- Offensive line: Leif Fautanu, Arizona State
Defense
- Defensive line: Brendan Mott, Kansas State*
- Defensive line: BJ Green II, Colorado*
- Defensive line: Dontay Corleone, Cincinnati
- Defensive line: TJ Jackson, West Virginia
- Linebacker: Jacob Rodriguez, Texas Tech*
- Linebacker: Austin Romaine, Kansas State
- Linebacker: Keaton Thomas, Baylor
- Defensive back: Travis Hunter, Colorado*
- Defensive back: Mello Dotson, Kansas
- Defensive back: AJ Haulcy, Houston
- Defensive back: Cobee Bryant, Kansas
Specialists
- Punter: Palmer Williams, Baylor
- Kicker: Will Ferrin, BYU*
- All-purpose: Jaylin Noel, Iowa State
Individual awards
- Coach of the year: Kenny Dillingham, Arizona State*
- Player of the year: Travis Hunter, Colorado
- Newcomer of the year: Sam Leavitt, Arizona State
*-unanimous selection