The 2024 Heisman Trophy race is down to four finalists.
Oregon Ducks quarterback Dillon Gabriel, Colorado Buffaloes cornerback/wide receiver Travis Hunter, Boise State Broncos running back Ashton Jeanty and Miami Hurricanes quarterback Cam Ward were announced on Monday as the finalists for the Heisman, college football's most prestigious honor.
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This season's Heisman winner will be revealed at a ceremony in New York City on Saturday, Dec. 14.
And it's widely expected that the award for the nation's most outstanding player will be given to Hunter, who was a two-way force for the Buffaloes. The junior tallied the fifth-most receptions in the nation (92), the sixth-most receiving yards (1,152) and the second-most receiving touchdowns (14).
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Hunter even made his presence felt when Colorado's offense wasn't on the field, with opposing offenses rarely testing him at the cornerback spot. He made four interceptions, 11 pass breakups and 32 tackles, along with a game-sealing forced fumble at the goal line in overtime of a September comeback win against Baylor.
Hunter and the No. 23 Buffaloes went 9-3 for the program's first winning record in a full season since 2016.
Jeanty was the nation's leading rusher by a sizable margin with 2,497 yards on 344 carries, good for a whopping 7.3-yard average. He also led all FBS running backs with 29 rushing touchdowns, adding 20 receptions for 116 yards and a score.
The junior back powered the No. 9-ranked Broncos to a Mountain West championship and the No. 3 seed in the College Football Playoff, giving him a chance to break Barry Sanders' single-reason FBS rushing record of 2,628 yards that was set in 1988. Jeanty is looking to become the first Boise State player to ever win the Heisman and the first running back to do so since Derrick Henry in 2015.
The last three Heisman Trophies have gone to quarterbacks, and there are two signal-callers up for this year's award.
Following stints at Incarnate Word and Washington State, Ward racked up the second-most passing yards in the nation (4,123) and threw for the most touchdowns (36) in his first season with Miami. The senior, who also rushed for 196 yards and four scores, competed 67.7% of his 435 pass attempts and was picked off seven times as the No. 13 Hurricanes went 10-2.
Gabriel, meanwhile, quarterbacked Oregon to a special debut season in the Big Ten after taking over the starting gig from 2023 Heisman finalist and NFL first-round pick Bo Nix. Similar to Ward, Gabriel spent time at UCF and Oklahoma before breaking out in his first season with Ducks, who captured the conference championship and No. 1 seed in the CFP with a perfect 13-0 record.
Gabriel's 73.2 completion percentage on 406 passes ranked second in the FBS among quarterbacks with at least 200 attempts, trailing only Colorado's Shedeur Sanders. He threw for 3,558 yards, 28 touchdowns and six picks, adding 192 yards and seven scores on the ground.
