Two-way challenge: BYU football talks about facing Heisman Trophy winner on offense and defense | News, Sports, Jobs

By Pune Media On Dec 17, 2024 29

Colorado’s Travis Hunter holds the trophy after winning the Heisman Trophy as the outstanding player in college football, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024, in New York. (Todd Van Emst/Heisman Trust via AP, Pool)

Traditionally only one college football team gets a chance to face the Heisman Trophy winner during the season that he won the award (in a bowl game).

With the advent of the expanded College Football Playoff, that may change in the future — but this year that’s still the case.

And, of course, this year the team facing the 2024 Heisman Trophy winner is BYU.

Colorado superstar Travis Hunter added the ultimate individual prize to his collection on Saturday, doing things that haven’t been done in college football for at least half a century.

Since Hunter is key contributor for the Buffaloes both as a wide receiver and a defensive back, that means everybody on the BYU offense and defense are preparing for the challenges he presents.

“I’ve never done this in my coaching career, so it’s exciting,” Cougar defensive coordinator Jay Hill said. “I know the players are excited about defending these guys — and it’s not just him. They have other guys too. We are going to have to raise our level of execution and just how we play.”

BYU offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick described Hunter as “probably the best football player I’ve ever seen.”

“He’s an unbelievable player,” Roderick said. “To play 100-and-something snaps every game and be that good on offense, and then cover people the way he does in the fourth quarter of games after he’s played 100 plays, I’ve never seen like it. I have lots of respect for him.”

Hunter’s success didn’t come as any surprise to BYU junior wide receiver Keelan Marion, since he’s known Hunter for a long time.

“Back home in Georgia, we played in high schools that were in the same area,” Marion said. “He’s always been that kid who everyone knew who he was. He’s the same guy today.”

Marion talked about how Hunter moved from Florida and went to a school named Collins Hill, which wasn’t far from where Marion was playing at Grayson.

“He became who he is today in like 10th grade,” Marion said. “He was that guy and I always heard about him. We had the same trainer. He puts in the work and it shows.”

He said that watching Hunter accept the Heisman award just highlighted who the Colorado star is.

“He’s always been humble,” Marion said. “He told our trainer that he wanted to be the best guy he ever trained. Shout out to Travis. I’m very excited for him.”

When asked whether Marion felt like Hunter was better at either offense or defense, the Cougar star grinned and said the Buffalo player has earned all the accolades for what he does on both sides of the ball.

“Give him his props,” Marion said. “He plays both well. To play all those snaps, you can’t take that away from the guy.”

Cougar safety Tanner Wall agreed that Hunter deserves all the respect he’s getting and the BYU players are looking forward to the challenge of squaring off against him.

“The competitor in all of us, we want to play against the best,” Wall said. “Seeing Travis win the the Heisman on Saturday, I think we were all excited knowing that we get to go out and play against the Heisman winner, alongside all the other awards that he won. He’s a very respected player, so we’re excited for that challenge.”

While Hunter is the most decorated player in college football this year, Marion also got some All-American honors for his special teams success.

“It feels great,” Marion said. “But I’m just going to come here and keep working, keep getting better. I’m not going to let it faze me.”

He also wanted to make sure to give credit to the rest of the special teams unit for making his big plays possible.

“I get a lot of the accolades and stuff, but it’s also a shout-out to the guys blocking and opening up those lanes on kick return so I can score,” Marion said.

Marion added that being recognized as a returner makes him want to earn similar recognition for his receiving.

“I’m not just a returner,” Marion said. “I’m a receiver who also can return kicks.”

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