How will Travis Hunter's injury impact his Heisman Trophy contention?
Travis Hunter has been one of the best and most hyped college football players in this college football season. The Colorado Buffaloes have a two-way player as he has been able to play both wide receiver and cornerback for the team throughout the games. However, it is likely that his name will not be on the candidates for the Heisman Trophy when it is time for voting.
The reason behind it is not because there is an agenda against him or because of his play on the field. Instead, he suffered an injury that will keep him out for three weeks, according to his coach Deion Sanders.
Skip Bayless of Undisputed is reporting the injury is a lacerated liver and the timeframe until Hunter's return will be 3-4 weeks. The injury in question happened in the first quarter of Saturday's game against rival Colorado State Rams. Travis Hunter was hit after the play on the sidelines and went down but returned for a little bit in the second quarter before being ruled out for the remainder of the game.
However, if he returns in three weeks as reported, he will not have the numbers of some players who have been healthy the entire season. It was always a long shot for Travis Hunter to win the Heisman over a quarterback anyways but this injury puts the nail in the coffin.
Who is the favorite to win the Heisman Trophy now that Travis Hunter is injured?
The Travis Hunter injury shakes up the Heisman Trophy odds a bit but the favorite to win the award remains the same. It is likely to stay in the Pac-12 Conference as the reigning Heisman Trophy winner is USC quarterback Caleb Williams.
Williams has been on a tear throughout the season as he is 55-of-70 (78.6 completion percentage) for 878 yards with 12 touchdowns and zero interceptions.
After having a 42:5 touchdown-to-interception ratio last season to win the award, Williams needed to have a better season to prove to voters and repeat as the winner. With a 12-point completion percentage jump before entering Pac-12 play, it would have been incredibly difficult for Hunter to do enough to match with what Williams is doing under center.
There are a few other options but it seems like it is a pyramid for the Heisman Trophy and there is no one on the same level as Caleb Williams right now.