Colorado two-way sensation Travis Hunter had +3500 odds to win the Heisman Trophy at BetMGM as of Monday morning.
That puts him 12th overall, below a group of mostly quarterback prospects including Cam Ward (Miami), Jackson Dart (Mississippi), Jalen Milroe (Alabama) and Arch Manning (Texas), who hasn’t played a game this season.
The Las Vegas odds are predictions of the future, a lure for gamblers, not a referendum on who the Heisman Trophy voters actually want to call the “best player in the country.”
So the poor odds are more of an indictment on the fools who vote for the Heisman than they are on Hunter’s actual play on the field.
That’s what should happen.
Hunter currently ranks second nationally in receptions (30), second in receiving touchdowns (5) and seventh in receiving yards (342), but he has the potential to be even better as a cornerback.
Hunter’s coverage skills, impressive reactive athleticism and willingness to take hard hits have dared opposing offenses to test him, but he’s still recorded one interception, two interceptions and 11 tackles.
He’s a bona fide, full-time two-way star and NFL first-round candidate at both positions, and he’s not just a defensive back who makes gadget plays on offense (which are impressive enough in themselves), nor is he a great athlete who is forced to work two jobs because of injuries.
That’s the Buffaloes’ plan.
He literally defends both starting positions and is rarely off the field.
He played 129 against North Dakota State, 126 against Nebraska and another 123 in Saturday’s win over Colorado State.
He’s unlike any other player, at least of this generation. In 2002, receiver/defensive back Chris Gamble played both positions at Ohio State and was great, but — and this is just a comparison, not a disparagement — Gamble started just five games at both positions and only logged 100 or more snaps three times that season.
Hunter tries to do that every week.
His name brings to mind Gordy Lochbaum, who played at Holy Cross in the 1980s, and Paul Hornung, who played at Notre Dame in the 1950s. It was a different time and level of football back then, nothing like what’s going on now. Still, Lochbaum finished fifth in the Heisman race in 1986 and third in 1987, despite playing at the I-AA level. Hornung won the award in 1956, despite Notre Dame finishing 2-8.
But here we have a truly unique player in Travis Hunter, yet he’s 12th in the Heisman Trophy odds?
Maybe Vegas is wary of injuries, especially with 120 plays per game, but that’s true for everyone, as is the decline in play. Good luck, by the way.
In reality, the odds suggest that voters won’t be able to actually see the history and genius unfolding before their eyes, and will instead fall into the same pattern of looking for a quarterback with big records, preferably on a playoff-bound team.
Maybe BetMGM is right, but who can ignore this? If Hunter continues to play the way he is playing against the Big 12 schedule and someone is honestly going to sit down and write someone else’s name in as the best player, they need to get their eyes checked.
Maybe the odds reflect voter backlash against Colorado. Who knows. Even if someone is set in their ways and doesn’t like Deion Sanders or Shedul Sanders or the way the program is run, so what? It doesn’t matter if CU only wins five or six games and isn’t a championship favorite.
That’s not what awards are for.
I’m not against all the great quarterbacks in college football, but there will always be great quarterbacks in college football. I’m not against being the best player on the best team, but there will always be the best player on the best team.
It doesn’t always exist, but there are players who are both the best receiver and the best defensive back in the country.
That should be enough for Travis Hunter to win the Heisman, unless the voters get their way, as Vegas predicts.
