This is not the year a quarterback wins the Heisman Trophy

• There are only two picks for the Heisman Trophy: Stand now, Colorado Wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter and Boise State Running back Ashton Jeanty is the clear top-two player in college football.

• Everyone has a historic season: Jeanty's numbers are on pace to break almost every rushing record, while Hunter is the greatest two-way star of all time.

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Estimated reading time: 14 minutes

The highest individual award in the NFL is the MVP trophy. By definition, this award goes to the “Most Valuable Player.” So it makes sense that the last 11 winners have been quarterbacks. They are not only the most valuable players in football, but in all team sports. According to PFF's wins above replacement statistic, the most valuable NFL quarterback in 2023 was nearly four times more valuable than the best non-quarterback. In fact, a total of 20 signal callers posted a higher WAR than the best non-quarterback.

The Heisman Trophy, the most important individual award in college football, also goes predominantly to quarterbacks. Only four of the 24 winners this century came from positions outside of this position. But unlike the MVP trophy, the Heisman Trophy goes to “the most outstanding player in college football,” not necessarily the most valuable, although the two often coincide.

That is not the case this year. Colorado Wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter and Boise State Running back Ashton Jeanty were by far the two most outstanding players in the country as they both had historic seasons.

Hunter is, quite simply, the best two-way player college football has ever seen. The junior was a real Ironman buffaloes playing 920 snaps in eight games, an average of 115 per week. For reference, the snap minimum we set for a given week is 25, as that is typically what a key contributor would play. Such a workload would exhaust virtually every other player, which in turn would lead to poor results on the field. Not only does Hunter perform admirably in both directions, he also plays both positions like a superstar.

Hunter's eight receiving touchdowns are tied for second in the Power Four, while his 757 receiving yards rank sixth.

He has nine coverage stops this season, ranking third among power four corners. The junior also has two interceptions and four forced incompletions on the year while posting just a 40.5 passer rating in coverage. If you spike the ball on every play, you get a rating of 39.6.

Hunter's 86.8 only gets trails Ole Miss'Tre Harris is a Power Four wideout ranked fourth nationally. He is also fourth among FBS cornerbacks with a coverage grade of 88.7.

Let that sink in for a second. A player who plays at least twice the number of snaps as a regular starter will be ranked at least among the top five players at two different positions on completely different sides of the ball.

Travis Hunter is the greatest two-way player college football has ever seen. pic.twitter.com/PENyszu2Qy

— Max Chadwick (@CFBMaxChadwick) October 29, 2024

Normally that would be enough to walk away with the Heisman Trophy. Except for the fact that there is a running back-in Idaho challenging Barry Sanders' historic 1988 season. Ashton Jeanty is on pace to break nearly every rushing record in seven games.

Ashton Jeanty's historic first seven games of the season:

*Since PFF began recording college football charts in 2014

This season-long pace only applies to the regular season, so Sanders' record could be even more in jeopardy considering Jeanty could play two or more games in the postseason.

Anyone who ignores his video game numbers because of the intense competition in the Mountain West should remember that he ran for 192 yards and three touchdowns against leaders Oregon in week 2.

Even though these two have historic years of their own, the betting odds still give the top quarterbacks a great chance to take home the Stiff Arm trophy.

Current Heisman odds (via DraftKings Sportsbook):

While this in no way discredits the great years that Gabriel and Ward each have, they do not deliver monumental seasons Cam Newton in 2010 or Joe Burrow in 2019.

On the other hand, Hunter and Jeanty are posting their best numbers of the year. If these two keep up this pace for the rest of the season, they should be the only candidates for the Heisman Trophy.

That is, if you're really looking for the “most outstanding player in college football.”