Travis Hunter wins CU football’s first major national award since ’02

CU Buffs two-way star Travis Hunter had an amazing season in 2023.

And he’s bringing home the school’s first major national award since 2002 for his efforts.

Hunter was named the 2023 Paul Hornung Award on Wednesday morning, given to college football’s most versatile player. Mark Mariscal won the Ray Guy Award as the nation’s best punter 21 years ago, the last time a CU player snagged a top honor.

BOOM! @TravisHunterJr is the most versatile player in the country. pic.twitter.com/DdHHtFkzOg

— Paul Hornung Award (@hornungaward) December 6, 2023

Hunter, playing wide receiver and cornerback, saw more snaps from scrimmage than any other FBS player in the country. He was on the field for 1,032 snaps, including 436 on offense, 566 on defense and 30 on special teams. He even missed 3.5 games due to a nasty injury.

“Paul Hornung accomplished great things that I also want to accomplish, and to be given the award in his name is truly amazing,” Hunter said in a release from CU. “I’d like to thank all my teammates for their support and Coach Prime for the opportunity to play both ways and do whatever I can to help the Colorado Buffaloes.”

On offense, Hunter caught 57 passes for 721 yards and five touchdowns. Defensively, he had three interceptions, five pass breakups and added 30 tackles.

“Travis is a special player, a generational player, who has changed the game,” Coach Prime said through CU. “We had to find ways to utilize him to the best of his ability on both sides of the ball, where he could utilize his strengths and be a force. Thank you to the award committee for seeing in Travis what we do, not only that he’s a tremendous player, but also a tremendous person.”

Hunter becomes the ninth player and 11th overall from CU to win a major national award. That list is highlighted by the late, great Rashaan Salaam winning the Heisman Trophy in 1994 — a trophy Hunter will certainly seek out in 2024 to add to his collection.