Shedeur Sanders sure thinks Travis Hunter has already clinched the Heisman Trophy

I’m sure Shedeur Sanders already felt like his teammate Travis Hunter had locked up this year’s Heisman Trophy before this weekend. But if he didn’t, he doubled down on it after Colorado’s come-from-behind win over Texas Tech. 

Hunter had 99 receiving yards and a touchdown reception on offense in the win, helping the Buffaloes reach seven wins on the year. Hunter did make a ridiculous interception, but unfortunately it didn’t count. 

Be that as it may, Hunter’s case for Heisman is already proven. There isn’t much else he needs to do to prove he’s a worthy candidate. 

But Hunter isn’t the surefire winner like Sanders thinks he is. This is a particularly loaded race with Ashton Jeanty putting up video game numbers and Dillion Gabriel leading one of the country’s most explosive offenses. 

In years past, there have been runaway candidates. That’s not the case this year, even if Hunter is doing something we haven’t seen in college football.

Hunter has a case for Heisman, but it won’t be easy to crown him college football's best player

If there’s one thing I agree on this season is that a quarterback shouldn’t necessarily win the award this year. With what Jeanty has done at Boise State and what Hunter is doing as a two-way player. 

Gabriel has looked every bit like a true candidate, but you can’t say what he’s doing is more impressive than what Hunter and Jeanty are doing. He’s not even the best quarterback in the upcoming draft. What Hunter and Jeanty are doing prove this isn’t just a quarterback award. And rightfully, whoever doesn’t win this year’s award will understandably feel snubbed. 

Hunter’s best case is that he plays both sides of the ball, playing upwards of 100 snaps per game and still playing every game. That’s unheard of. That said, we don’t know what Hunter’s going to look like in the NFL. 

He could be an explosive wide receiver. He could also just be an average cornerback. We’ve seen players like Sauce Gardner get into the NFL and not quite be as elite as they were in college. 

While Hunter has been good as a defensive player, that may not translate. And if he goes into the NFL as a wide receiver, can he really change a team like Justin Jefferson or Ja’Marr Chase has the moment they entered the NFL? 

I agree with Sanders, Hunter is definitely one of two players that should win the award this year. I just don’t agree it’s Hunter’s award to lose. 

Because while we may never see anybody play both sides of the ball the way Hunter does, we may never see a running back as talented and dominant as Jeanty.