Colorado's Travis Hunter Wins Paul Hornung Award for Nation's Most Versatile Player

Colorado star Travis Hunter took home the Paul Hornung Award on Wednesday.

The honor is reserved for the player deemed to be the most versatile in college football. Its namesake, Paul Hornung, famously excelled in a variety of roles at Notre Dame in the 1950s.

Hunter helped to revive the two-way archetype in 2023, lining up at wide receiver and defensive back for the Buffaloes. He caught 57 passes for 721 yards and five touchdowns to go along with 30 total tackles, three interceptions and eight pass breakups.

"Travis is a special player, a generational player, who has changed the game," head coach Deion Sanders said. "We had to find ways to utilize him to the best of his ability on both sides of the ball, where he could utilize his strengths and be a force. Thank you to the award committee for seeing in Travis what we do, not only that he's a tremendous player, but also a tremendous person. Travis hasn't reached his full potential as of yet and his best is still coming!"

Hunter's usage will be among the many subplots surrounding Colorado in 2024.

There's a reason two-way players have become exceedingly rare in the highest level of college football. The physical demands are simply so high that it's difficult to sustain over a full season.

A level of self-interest can be a play, too, depending on the player's aspirations. In Hunter's case, focusing his attention toward either offense or defense could be the best thing for his NFL draft stock.

Chris Gamble, who played at Ohio State from 2001-03, is among the notable two-way players from the modern era of college football. After splitting his time more evenly between receiver and cornerback as a sophomore, he became a full-time corner as a junior. That helped him become a first-round pick in the 2004 NFL draft.

Adoree' Jackson made the same calculus ahead of his junior season at USC in 2016 and reaped the benefits when he was a first-rounder in 2017.

As much fun as it was to watch Hunter in his first year with Colorado, he may decided to curtail his workload a bit when he suits back up for the Buffs.