NEW YORK CITY, N.Y. — After years of shining on the field at Collins Hill High School in Gwinnett County, Colorado Buffaloes star two-way player Travis Hunter is shining on the brightest stage of New York City.
Hunter captured the Heisman Trophy award on Saturday night, beating out Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty, Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel and Miami quarterback Cam Ward.
The metro Atlanta football star received 552 first-place votes and won by the slimmest margin of any Heisman winner since Alabama running back Mark Ingram won in 2009.
Hunter shouted out Collins Hill High School during his Heisman speech.
The Colorado Buffaloes' two-way standout even celebrates at an elite level, unveiling imaginative dance moves following touchdowns and interceptions, some of which include the Heisman Trophy pose. It's one of the many awards he's in line to win.
Hunter was the The Associated Press college football player of the year, receiving 26 of 43 votes Thursday from a panel of AP Top 25 voters.
Hunter's Georgia roots
Back home in metro Atlanta, 11Alive's Joe Ripley caught up with Hunter's high school football coaches on Friday.
Head football coach Drew Swick, who recently won coach of the year, knew he had someone special, someone who helped the Eagles fly to the state championship game and someone whose athleticism and personality set him apart from everyone else.
"Most kids look at Travis Hunter for being a role model here and want to replicate that," Swick said. “He’s a great young man on and off the field, no matter who’s looking. That’s the best thing about him. Our culture here at Collins Hill has been better since he left, you know, and that's, you know, it's not just him, but it's also the seniors in that class that, you know, came up with him.”
Hunter is known for his ability to play both offense and defense, something Swick said was getting more difficult to do in an age when more athletes are gracing the field.
"The game is fast, so you're playing more snaps," Swick said. "For him to play as many snaps as he does, the preparation and everything he's doing in the offseason up to the game on Friday or up to the season is why he can do all that. And because he loves the game and he loves his teammates, he's always gonna put his body on the line for that."
Part of Hunter's recipe for success included his pre-game diet, which Swick said consisted of blueberry muffins, maybe some chips in the morning and a bag of gummy bears. Frontia Fountain coaches defensive backs at Collins Hill. He reminisced about the car rides he'd take with the two-way player and the conversations they had together.
"He's one of the most electrifying kids I've ever coached here," Fountain said. "He works hard and wants to be great at everything he does. He used to dream and say that he wanted to be the best player ever. And that's all he's doing. He's living out his dream."
That dream led Hunter to become the number one recruit in the nation back in 2021. Hunter signed to play at Jackson State University for head coach Deion Sanders. Hunter would follow Sanders to Colorado one year later, where the athlete would put up eye-popping numbers and catch the attention of Heisman voters.