EA Sports College Football 25 promoting Travis Hunter Heisman campaign
The Heisman buzz for Colorado two-way star Travis Hunter is getting louder, and EA Sports College Football 25 is joining in on the fun.
The X account of the college football video game posted a video Monday showing Hunter pull off the “Heisman” pose in game, just two days removed from Hunter doing exactly that after making a diving interception during a 48-21 win over UCF.
Hunter now has two interceptions to his name this season — not to mention his game-sealing forced fumble in an overtime win against Baylor — and 16 total tackles. He’s allowed only 7.7 yards per reception, and he’s yet to give up a touchdown pass in 2024, according to Pro Football Focus.
Plus, he’s piled up 46 receptions for 561 yards and six touchdowns this year. He’s eighth nationally with 112.2 receiving yards per game, and his 46 grabs are tied for the third most of any player in the country.
What’s most impressive is that Hunter — who came over to Colorado from Jackson State with Deion Sanders ahead of the 2023 season — has amassed a combined 652 offensive and defensive snaps through five games, per PFF, which had him at 1,044 offensive and defensive snaps over his nine games played last year.
Stephen A. Smith makes case for Travis Hunter as Heisman, Deion Sanders as Coach of the Year
ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith is all aboard the Hunter train. Smith also believes Hunter’s head coach should be in consideration for some pretty big hardware, too.
“I want to be on the record saying this,” Smith said Monday on “First Take” before heaping praise on Colorado’s two-way star. “I think that Travis Hunter should be the leading candidate for the Heisman Trophy, I really do.
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“On both sides of the ball, this brother is special. He’s a playmaker on both sides of the ball, a difference maker on both sides of the ball. He can be a lockdown defender when you ask him to as well. From the cornerback position, the brother’s spectacular. And it’s so ironic that his coach is ‘Primetime’ Deion Sanders because he was one of the brothers that could do that on both the collegiate and professional level, obviously in his Hall of Fame career. That’s what Travis Hunter brings to the table.”
Colorado is off to a 4-1 start, with its lone loss coming to a previously-ranked Nebraska squad. The Buffs have already won as many games as they did last year. They’re 2-0 in Big 12 play after going 1-8 in Pac-12 competition in 2023, Deion Sanders’ first season at the helm.
“I also want to say this: ‘Prime Time’ Deion Sanders has made the case to be Coach of the Year,” Smith said. “I don’t think anybody’s noticed this or not, but when you consider what was projected … they were projected to finish 11th [in the Big 12]? People were wondering whether or not they were going to win three or four games. They 4-1.”
Smith added: “I don’t think he’s gonna pull it off. … “[But] everybody thought they were gonna get crushed by UCF. They didn’t beat them, they beat their ass. There’s a difference. You look at the way they’re playing. Of course, in Prime Time’s case, they’d have to continue to play this way — and they gotta make a bowl game — in order for him to get those kind of accolades. But Travis Hunter? Heisman.”