Travis Hunter, former Gwinnett high school football star, wins Heisman Trophy

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – Travis Hunter, who helped Collins High School in Gwinnett County win its first state championship in school history in 2021, is the nation’s top college football player of the year.

Hunter, a cornerback and wide receiver at the University of Colorado, won the Heisman Trophy Saturday night in New York. He becomes the fifth Heisman winner who played his high school football career in Georgia to win the coveted prize.

The Heisman capped an award-winning week for Hunter, who not only signed a lucrative endorsement deal with Adidas but also:

• won the Associated Press College Player of the Year
• won the 2024 Chuck Bednarik Award for the nation’s best defensive player
• won the 2024 Biletnikoff Award, given the best collegiate receiver

Hunter is the first player in college football history to win both the Bednarik and Biletnikoff awards.

Hunter graduated from Collins Hill High School in 2022 after setting numerous Gwinnett County single-season in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. As a senior, he helped Collins Hill cap off a perfect 15-0 record. He was also selected to play in the 2022 Polynesian Bowl, where he won offensive MVP honors with five receptions for 54 yards and an interception on defense.

Hunter then attended Florida State University on a scholarship, but transferred to Jackson State University after then-head football coach Deion Sanders (a former Atlanta Falcons’ draft pick) recruited him. Hunter became the first five-star recruit believed to have ever signed with an HBCU.

Hunter then followed Sanders to the Colorado Buffaloes. Hunter becomes the first two-way player to win the Heisman since the University of Michigan’s Charles Woodson in 1997.

Hunter was named All-Big 12 first-team receiver and earned honorable mention for offensive player of the year. He leads the Big 12 with 92 receptions and 14 receiving touchdowns and is second with 1,152 yards. His 21 receiving plays of 20-plus yards lead the nation.

He also is Big 12 defensive player of the year and a unanimous first-team defensive back after recording 31 tackles, tying for the Big 12 lead with 11 pass breakups and tying for second with four interceptions.

Who are the other Heisman Trophy winners who played high school ball in Georgia?

• George Rogers, Duluth High School. Rogers was a star running back at the University of South Carolina, where he won the Heisman in 1980. He played seven seasons in the NFL.
• Herschel Walker, Johnson County High School in Wrightsville, Georgia. In 1983, the state’s greatest player in college football history the University of Georgia as a junior to sign with the New Jersey Generals of the then-iteration of the United States Football League (USFL), a team owned by president-elect Donald Trump. The 1982 Heisman Trophy winner spent three years with the USFL before the league folded, then went onto play for the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys, Minnesota Vikings, Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants. He retired with the Cowboys, and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1999.
• Charlie Ward, Thomas County Central, Thomasville, Georgia. Ward threw for more than 3,000 yards and 27 touchdowns in 1993 and led Florida State University to a national championship. He played 11 seasons in the NBA (yes, the NBA, not the NFL).
• Cam Newton, Westlake High School, Atlanta. In 2010, he threw for more than 2,800 yards as a quarterback for Auburn University; ran for 1,473 yards; and accounted for 50 touchdowns. He led the Tigers to a national title in 2010. He played 11 seasons in the NFL, most for the Atlanta Falcons’ NFC South division rival, the Carolina Panthers.

The Heisman Memorial Trophy is named for John Heisman, who was Georgia Tech’s head football coach for 16 seasons, beginning in 1904, and where he compiled a won-loss record of 102-27-7. Tech won the national championship in 1917, following two unbeaten season in 1915 and 1916.

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