The Heisman Trophy is awarded to the best player in college football during the regular season. It is down to two candidates: Colorado wide receiver and cornerback Travis Hunter and Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty. Both players have made compelling arguments as to why they should win the prestigious award. However, only one can win it and make history for their respective programs. In this edition of Point-Counterpoint, staff writer Sam Calhoun and campus correspondent Matt Dimech make their arguments on who they believe should win the Heisman Trophy.
Sam Calhoun: Ashton Jeanty
Jeanty has taken the college football world by storm this season, rushing for 2,288 yards and 28 touchdowns on 312 carries. He is the sole reason why Boise State is in contention for the College Football Playoff, which they will most certainly be in if they beat UNLV in the Mountain West Championship on Friday night.
Running backs are not usually in the race for the Heisman Trophy. The last running back to win the award was Derrick Henry in his 2015 season at Alabama. Mark Ingram II won the award in 2009 as he helped lead Alabama to a national title. Reggie Bush won the award in 2005 at USC. Those are all the running backs who have won the honor in the 21st century. However, Jeanty has been statistically better than all three of the previous running backs to win it. Bush rushed for 1,740 yards and 16 touchdowns on 200 carries. While he averaged 8.7 yards per carry and Jeanty averaged 7.3, Bush had multiple games where he failed to rush for over 100 yards while Jeanty’s lowest number of yards on the ground was 127, but that was on 11 carries. Ingram rushed for 1,658 yards and 17 touchdowns on 271 carries and averaged 6.1 yards per carry. Henry had the most compelling campaign for the Heisman Trophy, leading the nation in rushing yards (2,219), rushing touchdowns (28) and carries (395). However, he only averaged 5.6 yards per carry. Bush and Ingram did not lead the nation in rushing statistics when they won the Heisman Trophy.
I also believe that the Heisman Trophy should also go to the player who is the most valuable on the team. While that can be said for Jeanty, there are arguments that Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders is more valuable than Travis Hunter.
Matt Dimech: Travis Hunter
If you want to use the word “value,” then look no further than Travis Hunter. Hunter has been simultaneously one of the best players in all of college football on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. He has hauled in 14 receiving touchdowns which currently ranks second in all of FBS, while rushing in one. As a cornerback, Hunter has batted down 11 passes while plucking four interceptions, once again ranking among the best in the league.
Despite Jeanty’s talent, dominant running backs have popped up all the time in the history of college football. Meanwhile, we have not seen a player like Hunter in decades, not since the 1997 Heisman trophy winner Charles Woodson was making waves as the only defensive player to ever win the award. Woodson was also an elite do-it-all player who was an effective corner, receiver and returner. In his Heisman season, he intercepted a conference-leading seven passes, four fewer than Hunter in 2024. He averaged 8.6 yards per punt return on the season and scored a touchdown on a return against Ohio State to propel them to victory over their dreaded rivals. Woodson also scored three scrimmage touchdowns as a receiver. While Hunter has played in a more pass heavy era of football, his numbers as a receiver still dwarf that of Woodson’s. Hunter has amassed nearly 900 more receiving yards and 12 more scrimmage touchdowns.
Jeanty does, however, have one stark advantage over Hunter; he has one more game to win over the voters in the Mountain West Championship, and voters could fall susceptible to being prisoners of the moment. However, Hunter’s most recent game might have been his best yet. He reeled in 10 catches for 116 yards and three touchdowns and tacked on an interception in Colorado’s 52-0 thrashing of Oklahoma State. With the season Hunter has had, it is without question that his contributions on both sides of the ball will have earned him the most prestigious award in college football.