Travis Hunter wins 2024 Heisman Trophy, Mililani’s Dillon Gabriel finishes third
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - The University of Colorado’s two-way player Travis Hunter won the 2024 Heisman Trophy award Saturday.
He received 552 first-place votes and 2,231 points to win college football’s top honor over fellow finalists Mililani graduate and Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel, Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty, and Miami’s Cam Ward.
Hunter had a standout season with the Buffalos and is projected to be the number one pick in upcoming NFL Draft.
Playing both wide receiver and defensive back, Hunter had 92 receptions with 1,152 yards and 14 touchdowns while recording 32 tackles, four interceptions, 11 pass breakups and a forced fumble.
Mililani’s Dillon Gabriel finished third in Heisman voting behind Jeanty and Hunter with 516 total votes and 24 first-place votes.
Ballots went out to 928 electors, which includes 870 members of the media, 57 living Heisman winners and one overall fan vote.
Gabriel helped the Oregon Ducks to an undefeated season, a Big Ten championship, and the number-one seed in the upcoming expanded College Football Playoff.
Gabriel is the fourth Hawaii-born finalist since 2012, joining the ranks of Manti Teo, Tua Tagovailoa, and fellow Duck Marcus Mariota, who won the Heisman in 2014.
All four finalists spent Friday conducting interviews and sightseeing in the Big Apple.
They took photos beneath the massive billboards in Times Square and later posed with the famous Heisman Trophy, handed out since 1935 to the nation’s most outstanding performer.
They were also given custom, commemorative watches to mark their achievement.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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More about the finalists, courtesy of Heisman
Gabriel, a senior from Mililani, Hawaii, is both the 2024 Big Ten Offensive Player and Quarterback of the Year, as well as an All-Big Ten first-team pick. The first-year Duck led No. 1 Oregon to a 13-0 season, a Big Ten Championship win over Penn State and the top seed in the College Football Playoff. He is second nationally in completion percentage (73.2) and is seventh in passer rating (166.57). He competed 297-of-406 passes for 3,558 yards and 28 touchdowns while rushing for 192 yards and seven scores. His 35 total touchdowns are tied for seventh nationally, while his passing yards are eighth. Gabriel, in his sixth year of college football, became the NCAA’s all-time leader in total touchdowns with 187. Gabriel set the all-time FBS record for career quarterback starts with his 62nd on Saturday, breaking the mark held by 2023 Heisman finalist and fellow Oregon Duck Bo Nix.
Hunter, a junior from Suwanee, Ga., is the 2024 Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year. He also earned All-Big 12 first-team honors as both a defensive back and a wide receiver. Defensively, he had 31 tackles, 11 pass breakups, four interceptions, a conference-best 15 passes defended (tied for fifth nationally), and forced a game-winning fumble. Hunter, named Honorable Mention for Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year, led the conference with 92 receptions and 14 receiving touchdowns while finishing with 1,152 receiving yards, second in the Big 12. Nationally, he is second in receiving touchdowns, fifth in receptions per game (7.7) and sixth in receiving yards per game (96.0). Hunter leads the country with 21 receiving plays for 20 yards or more. He twice had three touchdown receptions in a game, had 10 or more catches in a game three times and had 100 or more receiving yards in a game seven times.
Jeanty, a junior from Jacksonville, Fla., is a two-time Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year and All-Mountain West First Team selection (2023-24). He has rushed for 2,497 yards and 29 touchdowns, both national bests, as well as school and conference records. His rushing total is the second-biggest regular-season total in FBS history, behind only 1988 Heisman winner Barry Sanders. Jeanty has rushed for 125 or more yards in 13 straight games, the longest FBS streak since at least 1996. He was named the Mountain West Championship game MVP after leading the Broncos to a 21-7 win. He ran for 209 yards and a score in the title game, the eighth time in his career he’s rushed for more than 200 yards in a game, including six times this season. He has 17 100-yard halves this year. Jeanty, the program record-holder with 4,655 yards, has also set Boise State single-season records for all-purpose yards (2,613) and rushing touchdowns (29).
Ward, a senior from West Columbia, Texas, is both the 2024 ACC Player and Offensive Player of the Year, earning All-ACC first-team quarterback honors. He leads the nation with a school-record 36 passing touchdowns while his 4,123 passing yards, 4,319 total yards, 343.6 passing yards per game and total touchdowns (41) are all second-most. His passer rating is fourth (171.07). His passing yards are also a Miami single-season record, breaking Bernie Kosar’s 40-year school record. Ward, Miami’s first ACC Player of the Year, is the first Hurricane QB to post seven straight 300-yard games and he has totaled 10 games with 300-plus yards and three or more TD passes. A fifth-year senior, Ward is tied with Case Keenum for the most career passing touchdowns (155) at the NCAA Division I level. The Miami offense Ward directs is first nationally in scoring (44.2).
Gabriel is Oregon’s fifth finalist and first since Nix (2023). He would be the Ducks’ second winner and first since Marcus Mariota (2014). Hunter is Colorado’s fourth Heisman finalist and its first since the Buffaloes’ lone Heisman winner, Rashaan Salaam (1994). Jeanty is Boise State’s second Heisman finalist and first since Kellen Moore (2010). He would be the Broncos’ first winner. Ward is Miami’s 10th finalist and first since Willis McGahee (2002). He would be the Hurricanes’ third winner and first since Gino Torretta (1992).
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