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The Heisman Trophy is the most prestigious individual award in college sports. The best player in college football, regardless of position, has been given the award every year since 1935. Of course, over that time, some winners have had better seasons than others, but the 2024 crop of athletes will likely stand the test of time and be remembered with the best Heisman winners in history.
This year's best college football players are in a world of their own compared to most Heisman finalists, and that is compounded by the fact that this is the first year of the 12-team College Football Playoff field. With so much of significance still ahead of us this college football season, we are here to detail everything that you need to know in order to watch the 2024 Heisman Trophy ceremony.
How to watch the Heisman Trophy ceremony
The Heisman finalists will gather together in New York to see who is crowned the best player of the 2024 season. The Heisman Trophy ceremony is on Saturday, Dec. 14, with resulted being announced at 8 p.m. ET. ESPN will broadcast the event, meaning you can stream it on either ESPN+ or fuboTV.
Date: Saturday, Dec. 14 | Time: 8 p.m. ET
TV channel: ESPN | Live stream: FuboTV (Get Access | Save $30)
2024 Heisman Trophy finalists
On Dec. 9, all four 2024 Heisman finalists were revealed. Unlike most years, though, this crop of finalists wasn't dominated by quarterbacks or the best players on the most prestigious teams in the nation, which makes it one of the most unique years ever in the Heisman race. Each Heisman finalist and their claim to win the award is detailed below.
Travis Hunter, WR/CB, Colorado
2024 stats: 92 receptions, 14 receiving touchdowns, 1,152 receiving yards, 31 tackles, 11 pass breakups, 15 passes defended, four interceptions
Travis Hunter is arguably the best receiver in the nation, but only four receivers have ever won the Heisman Trophy. The Colorado Buffaloes star is also arguably the best cornerback in the nation, but winning the Heisman is even more rare at that position. Charles Woodson was the only cornerback to ever do it.
The fact that Hunter does both makes things different, though. While we've seen players (like Woodson) get a few plays made for them on the other side of the ball than they normally play at, we haven't seen a true two-way player in a very long time – like a century ago long time.
Offensively, Hunter was second in the nation in receiving touchdowns, fifth in receptions per game (7.7), and sixth in receiving yards per game (96). Hunter was best known on that end for the big plays he'd make. He had a number of highlight-worthy plays deep down the field, including a nation-leading 21 catches for 20-plus yards. Some of his biggest performances were in the biggest moments, including two three-touchdown games.
On the less glamorous side of the ball, Hunter still stood out. His ball skills were unmatched, and opposing teams often refused to throw his way. He allowed only 205 yards and one score in coverage all season long. His defensive highlight of the season was a game-winning forced fumble at the goalline against Baylor in overtime. With 1,443 snaps between offense, defense, and special teams, Hunter could be an All-American on both sides of the ball.
In the process of all of this, Hunter helped transition Colorado from bottom dwellers to must-watch TV. His team, led by head coach Deion Sanders, was in the spotlight all year. Despite being surrounded by distractions like celebrities on the sidelines of games, Hunter balled out all year, and that is why he is the favorite to win the Heisman Trophy. Coming into the year, we listed Hunter as the best player in the nation, and he certainly lived up to the hype.
Ashton Jeanty, RB, Boise State
2024 stats: 2,497 rushing yards, 29 rushing touchdowns (30 total touchdowns)
Travis Hunter isn't a shoo-in for the Heisman Trophy because of how impressive Ashton Jeanty as been. Like Hunter, Jeanty would also be an unprecedented Heisman winner. That is because a mid-major player has never won the top award in college football, and Jeanty suits up for the Boise State Broncos who still compete in the Mountain West Conference.
Jeanty's season is one of the best running back seasons in college football history, and it isn't like Boise State wasn't competing with Power-5 teams, either. The Broncos' only loss on the season was a three-point defeat where they gave Oregon a run for their money. Now, both teams have College Football Playoff byes, Oregon as the one-seed and Boise State as the three-seed.
Jeanty's 2,497 rushing yards are the fourth most in a single season ever, and his regular season yardage only trails Barry Sanders' 1988 season all time. That season is widely regarded as the best Heisman season ever and is a big reason Sanders is viewed as one of the best college football players of all time.
Jeanty ran for over 125 yards in all 13 games this year, which is an FBS record. He did it with stacked boxes and defenses knowing that a handoff was likely coming, too. The biggest thing Jeanty has going for him over Hunter is that he played in his conference championship game. Not only did he play in it, but he thrived. Jeanty was named the Mountain West Conference Championship MVP after running for 209 yards en route to a 21-7 Boise State victory.
Jeanty fell just short of the all-time single-season rushing record, but his numbers are super impressive when you consider that he was often benched in the second halves of games to avoid injury in Boise State blowouts. Even so, Jeanty had 837 more rushing yards than the second placed finisher this season.
Dillon Gabriel, QB, Oregon
2024 stats: 72.3% completion rate, 166.57 quarterback rating, 3,558 passing yards, 28 passing touchdowns, seven rushing touchdowns
A year after Bo Nix was a Heisman finalist Oregon quarterback, the Ducks have another signal-caller in the running to be named the best player in the nation. Dillon Gabriel led the Ducks to a perfect 13-0 record and a Big Ten title in their first year in the conference. Oregon is the only undefeated team in the FBS, and they are now the team to beat in the first year of the 12-team College Football Playoff.
Gabriel has been around the college game for a long time, and although he has always been a great player, you could argue that this was his true breakout year. En route to becoming the all-time touchdown leader (187 career scores), Gabriel had 35 scores, which ranked seventh in the nation. With a stacked roster around him, he managed the game to perfection and did whatever it took to win games.
Like his Oregon predecessor (Bo Nix), who has the record for single-season completion percentage, Gabriel was incredibly accurate. His 72.3% completion rate was the second best mark in the nation, as Gabriel rarely missed passes at any of the three levels of the football field. In the process, he also passed Nix for the most career starts (62).
Gabriel, who is from Hawaii, would be Oregon's second-ever Heisman-winner. Ironically, a fellow Hawaiian quarterback by the name of Marcus Mariota was the other Oregon player to win the award.
Cam Ward, QB, Miami
2024 stats: 67.4% completion rate, 171.02 quarterback rating, 4,123 passing yards, 36 passing touchdowns, five rushing touchdowns
Cam Ward was the best player on the best offense in football. The Hurricanes scored 44.2 points per game, largely thanks to the Washington State transfer that was leading the way. His nation-leading 36 passing touchdowns were also the most in program history.
Meanwhile, his passing yards (4,123), total yards (4,319), passing yards per game (343.6), and total touchdowns (41), were all the second most in the nation. Ward has a big frame and a cannon of an arm. It is hard for defenders to bring him down, and when they don't, he slings the football deep down the field.
Ward completely transformed Miami's offense. Last year, the Hurricanes were 7-6 and lacking of playmaking. This season, defenses couldn't figure out how to slow them down. Two late losses cost the Hurricanes a chance at the College Football Playoff and will likely hurt Ward's chances of winning the Heisman Trophy, but because the award has usually gone to quarterbacks in recent years, Ward isn't out of the running.
