These are the Heisman Trophy candidates for 2024: Who will be named college football’s best player this year?

Surprisingly, the top two contenders for this year’s Heisman Trophy race are not quarterbacks. Only two non-quarterbacks have won the award in the last 14 years - wide receiver DeVonta Smith in 2020 and running back Derrick Henry in 2016.

In the top three contenders for the Heisman Trophy, there is one quarterbacks, one running back, and one player who doubles as a wide receiver and cornerback. If you’ve not been paying attention, allow me to introduce you.

2024 Heisman Trophy candidates

WR/CB Travis Hunter, Colorado

No other player in the NCAA has played two positions as consistently and successfully as Colorado’s Travis Hunter, who lines up on both sides of the ball. As such, he’s played 1,266 snaps (602 on offense, 640 on defense, and 24 on special teams), more than any other player since 2018, according to ESPN. And he’s been successful on those snaps as well.

On offense, Hunter is a receiving weapon, with 92 catches for 1,152 yards and 14 touchdowns this season, the second-most in one season in school history.

As a cornerback, Hunter has logged 31 tackles, 11 pass deflections, a forced fumble, and four interceptions. He is the first player since 1980 to record 1,000 receiving yards and three interceptions in one season.

The only defensive player to ever win the Heisman Trophy was Charles Woodson in 1997, taking the majority of his snaps as a defensive back, but also serving as a kick returner and the occasional wide receiver, logging 238 yards and three touchdowns. When you think about that, it makes what Hunter’s done even more impressive.

Colorado’s season is over after they beat Oklahoma State 52-0 on Friday. Hunter is a finalist for the Chuck Bednarik Award, given to the best defensive player of the year, and in competition with Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty for the Maxwell Award, an award given to the College Football Player of the Year and which usually mirrors the Heisman (the last eight of ten winners of the Maxwell also won the Heisman).

RB Ashton Jeanty, Boise State

Boise State still has one game left to play this Saturday, the Mountain West Championship against the Rebels, but their standout running back Ashton Jeanty has already racked up record rushing yards. He’s got 312 carries for 2,288 yards and 28 touchdowns, plus 18 catches for 102 yards and a receiving touchdown.

Jeanty is the first player to rush for 125+ yards in 11 straight games in the same season since Troy Davis did so in 1996 at Iowa State. He needs just two more rushing touchdowns to join Barry Sanders as the only players in FBS history with 30 rushing touchdowns and 2,000 yards in a single-season (Sanders holds the record with 2,850 rushing yards in a season).

His 2,062 rushing yards leads the nation, with his closest competitor still 600 yards behind him.

QB Dillon Gabriel, Oregon

Dillon Gabriel played for UCF from 2019 until 2021 when he transferred to Oklahoma for the 2022 season. He spent two seasons there, racking up 6,828 yards, 55 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. In his final year, he transferred to Oregon, ahead of the 2024 season.

He’s now led them to a 12-0 season and a Big Ten title game. He leads the conference in passing yards (3,275) and touchdowns (24). He has a shot to pass Case Keenum (19,217)as the NCAA’s all-time passing leader, currently at 18,140. This is the fifth time in his career that he’s over 3,000 yards passing. He set an NCAA FBS record for total touchdowns last month.

His success lifted Oregon to No. 1 in the rankings and made them the only undefeated team in the nation.

Heisman Trophy odds

These are the odds of each of the top candidates to win the Heisman Trophy in 2024, according to Fox Sports. Colorado’s Travis Hunter has the lead.

When is the Heisman Trophy ceremony?

Voting opens on December 2 and closes on December 9. The Heisman winner will be announced and presented in New York on Saturday, December 14, one week after the conference championship games. The finalists invited to New York will be revealed on December 9.

How to watch the 2024 Heisman Trophy awards ceremony

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