TRAVIS HUNTER DESERVES THE HEISMAN IN A WORLD OF MULTIPLE-THREAT IDOLS

He’s playing 124 snaps a game, on offense and defense, and if Colorado keeps winning under Neon Deion (remember?), Hunter could claim a famed trophy and become the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft

     He dove for the interception, looked into the seats, stopped, performed a shrug and did what we’ve seen before. His right hand was outwardly posed, as everyone watched, and his left hand tucked the football under his armpit alongside a propped leg.

     The Heisman Trophy posture came from Travis Hunter. His exceptional play was a defensive blessing for a cornerback. But what happens when he plays offense as a wide receiver? “There ain’t nobody out there doing 130 snaps a game,” he said.

     He does precisely that, at an average of 124, not only for the University of Colorado but for an NFL team that might pick him first in the April draft.

     Here in Los Angeles, where a three-pronged player named Shohei Ohtani is throwing hard practice fastballs, the concept of Hunter as a two-way star is expected. Sport has reached the point where anyone with just one threat is boring. So why wouldn’t Deion Sanders turn Hunter loose as a prime Heisman Trophy candidate, recalling how Neon Deion once played football and baseball and poured water on a TV sportscaster?

     No athlete created more chills than Bo Jackson — the real football/baseball monster before avascular necrosis wrecked him — who made my hand shrink when he shook it. The new versatility victor is Hunter, who can beat opponents while moving forward and backing up. He deserves the Heisman until further notice, as the first college player in 48 years to catch at least six touchdown passes and record at least two interceptions. He is merely five games through the season, and with a 4-1 record, Sanders suddenly looks wise instead of wishy-washy. Hunter continues to develop as a dual hazard while his son, Shedeur, plays like a quarterback who will land in the top five.

     A receiver hasn’t been picked first since Keyshawn Johnson in 1996. No cornerback ever has gone No. 1. Charles Woodson won the Heisman, but he wasn’t nearly the same receiving magnet. With 112.2 passing yards per game and multiple zone reads that will translate on the next level, Hunter sees a behemoth future based on what the Sanders family wants. In a miracle overtime victory against Baylor, which included a Hail Mary to tie the game, Shedeur asked Hunter to make a massive defensive play and preserve the win. With Dominic Richardson headed for a touchdown, Hunter swooped in and knocked the ball out of the end zone.

     “Shedeur told me to go out there and get the ball once we scored, so I told him, ‘I got you,’ and I kept my word,” Hunter said. “I knew I had to tackle. You could see me putting in my mouthpiece late on the play, so I was already ready. I knew they were coming at me. They don't think I can tackle, so I had to show them.”

     Show them? “MAN TRAVIS HUNTER IS RIDICULOUS!!!!! WOW,” LeBron James wrote.

     “A great, great, great, great, great, great win,” Deion said.

     And what did Shedeur say of Hunter and the Buffaloes? “That's why I use the word legendary, and I post it so many times,” he said. “That's the word that I stand by and I live by. Through all the moments, throughout everything, I know, at the end of the day, legendary, that's what ingrained.”

     Unlike Tim Tebow and unlike Michael Jordan, Hunter thrives in double measures. His 300 plays on offense and 320 on defense should keep him ahead of Alabama’s Jalen Milroe for the top Heisman spot. His high-school coach near Atlanta says he’s “never seen him tired.” Anyone detect a potential problem with Shedeur playing on the same team? You don’t think Deion wants his kid in the running? If nothing else, votes headed the quarterback’s way would hurt Hunter. “Shedeur is such a good kid, sometimes it costs him,” the coach said. “That’s his character.”

     Last weekend, Hunter heard critical comments made by former NFL star Richard Sherman, who noted his size: 6-1, 185 pounds. “As a receiver, I just think he’s kinda bland,” he said on a podcast. “Receivers his size, he’s not a special size. I don’t see him as a super dynamic route-runner.”

     Can he play both positions in the league? “Hell, no,” Sherman said. “As a corner, he just looks natural. It’s so rare. A corner like him is gonna up the market.”

     A one-way blah? Before the game at Central Florida, Hunter wore a “Bland” t-shirt. Nearby, Shedeur was blowing off former NFL star Cam Newton, who wanted to talk. “He said I’m on some weird s—t,” Newton said.

     Though positives can turn ugly in Coach Prime’s neighborhood, all is happy for a week: before an Oct. 12 home matchup against Kansas State. Shedeur’s brother, Shilo, was sued for nearly $12 million by a high-school security guard who allegedly was assaulted. Shilo filed for bankruptcy, which led a Denver Post columnist to make fun of the program — which prompted Deion to ban Sean Keeler from asking questions. For now, Deion might stay long-term in Boulder, owing $8 million to the school if he leaves after Dec. 31, 2024. If he wants to cut players to make room for DJ Khaled’s entourage, as ESPN said, Deion can act accordingly with an early shot at the Big 12 title. Winning the conference would put him in the dozen-team national tournament.

     Which likely would place him and Travis Hunter in New York for a ceremony. And the Jaguars — ugh — would be in perfect position to draft him.

     Would Deion go to Jacksonville?

     Never say never.

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     Jay Mariotti, called “without question the most impacting Chicago sportswriter of the past quarter-century,’’ writes general sports columns for Substack while appearing on some of the 1,678,498 podcasts and shows in production today. He is an accomplished columnist, TV panelist and talk/podcast host. Living in Los Angeles, he gravitated by osmosis to film projects.