Colorado Buffaloes star Travis Hunter swept the nominations for all the major awards, including the Biletnikoff, Hornung, Walter Camp, Maxwell, and the Bednarik. But he missed out on one of the most prestigious ones.
On Nov. 26, the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame that recognizes the best defensive back in the country — the Jim Thorpe Award — announced its three finalists. Hunter was not among them (Malaki Starks, Jahdae Barron, and Caleb Downs).
Emmanuel Acho Has Strong Feelings on the Snub
The controversial snub was called out by Fox Sports analyst Emmanuel Acho during Wednesday’s episode of FS1’s The Facility.
“Travis Hunter should be at a minimum, at minimum be a finalist because it quite literally is a disgrace to the award and it undermines the integrity of the award,” Acho said.
“Again, Travis Hunter should be at minimum a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award. If he does not win it, fine, I get that. There are some other great defensive backs in college football. Jahdae Barron, Malaki Starks, and Caleb Downs are all worthy of being finalists, but Travis Hunter has single-handedly won games at defensive back. Remember, forced a fumble against Baylor in overtime to win the game.
People’s unnecessary disdain for @DeionSanders has robbed Travis Hunter of the Thorpe award. Let’s keep it real.
“Travis Hunter not being a finalist undermines the integrity of the award.”pic.twitter.com/78tgHmsjdQ
— Emmanuel Acho (@EmmanuelAcho) November 27, 2024
“Travis Hunter has helped propel this Colorado football team to potentially making a championship game when they were picked to finish 11th out of those 16 teams. I suggested that people’s disdain for Deion Sanders is what’s leading to Travis Hunter not being a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award.
“Hunter, if you watch the Colorado games, they avoid even throwing at him, and when they throw at him, it’s almost like he’s a receiver because that is how great his ball skills are.”
Deion Sanders Blamed for Travis Hunter’s Jim Thorpe Award Snub by Former NFL Star
Colorado Buffaloes coach Deion Sanders has divided opinions with his brash manner ever since he landed in Boulder and flipped the roster by encouraging certain players to enter the transfer portal while extensively using the medium to bring in new players.
After Hunter was snubbed for the Jim Thorpe Award, former NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III posted a clip on X, blasting the committee for punishing the Buffs’ two-way star due to the identity of his coach.
“Stop punishing Travis Hunter just because Deion Sanders is his coach,” Griffin said. “It is clear and obvious that Travis Hunter should have been a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award. But for some reason, he was left off the list! Shoutout to Texas cornerback Jahdae Barron, Ohio State safety Caleb Downs, and Georgia safety Malaki Starks. All three of those young men are straight ballers!
“But among those three finalists, Travis Hunter ranks second in interceptions, first in passes defended, and fourth in tackles. So didn’t they really vote for him to be a finalist because he didn’t have as many tackles as the other guys? Since when is getting tackles as a corner a good thing?”
Voters need to STOP PUNISHING Travis Hunter just because they don’t like Deion Sanders. Travis Hunter is not a product of hype. He should have been a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award.@TravisHunterJr vs Jim Thorpe Award Finalists
1st in Passes Defended
2nd in Ints
4th in… pic.twitter.com/41ztDfSP66— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) November 27, 2024
Hunter is still the odds-on favorite for the Heisman Trophy, according to BetMGM.