How they stack up: Top stats, moments and storylines for Colorado’s Travis Hunter, Heisman Trophy finalists

And then there were four.

The nearly 100-year-old club will add a member Saturday night in New York City.

Colorado has its fourth finalist in two-way star Travis Hunter, who is the programs first since Rashaan Salaam became the Buffaloes only winner thirty years ago.

Hunter is joined by Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty, Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel and Miami quarterback Cam Ward.

Heres the case for each player: Colorado wide receiver Travis Hunter (12) runs after catching a pass against Central Florida during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Sept.

28, 2024, in Orlando, Fla.

(AP Photo/Phelan M.

Ebenhack) Key stats: 92 receptions, 1,152 receiving yards, 15 total touchdowns, seven 100-yard receiving games, 5 multi-touchdown games, 31 tackles, 11 pass breakups, 4 interceptions, 1 forced fumble How he got here: Going from No.

1 overall recruit to Heisman finalist is not a surprise.

But Hunters college football career which will end after the Buffs Alamo Bowl appearance on Dec.

28 has been anything but conventional.

He bucked all trends as a high school senior, flipping his commitment from Florida State to Deion Sanders and Jackson State, becoming the first five-star to sign with an HBCU.

After one season with the Tigers, Hunter followed Coach Prime to Boulder, when many thought he might take his talents to a bigger program in the ACC or SEC, maybe even the Seminoles.

Hunter's excellence on offense and defense had never been seen in the modern era.

He's transformed into a top-five player at two of the most impactful positions on the field.

His Heisman moment: Can a player whose entire candidacy is rooted in the amount of snaps he plays have his case narrowed down to one moment? Hunter struck the iconic Heisman pose (which is actually different from the pose of the physical trophy).

It was on a hot, muggy September day in his home state of Florida.

The Buffs proved themselves as Big 12 contenders with a 27-point whooping of UCF.

And Hunter made a jaw-dropping interception in the middle of the third quarter.

When he got up, he sprinted to the end zone in front of him, pointed to everyone with a camera and let the world know he was a bona fide Heisman contender.

Quotable: Youve never seen a player like me.

Hunter Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty (2) celebrates a score with the fans Boise State against Oregon State in an NCAA college football game, Friday, Nov.

29, 2024, in Boise, Idaho.

(Drew Nash/Times-News via AP) Key stats: 2,497 rushing yards, 7.3 yards per carry, 30 total touchdowns, 127 rushing yards or more in every game, six 200-yard rushing games, seven multi-touchdown games, six three-or-more touchdown games How he got here: The only Heisman finalist to spend his entire career at one school, Jeantys football journey began in southern Italy.

His father, Harry, was a commanding officer in the Navy and during Ashtons middle school and early high school years, the Jeanty family was stationed on a support base in a town called Aversa, just outside of Naples.

After two games as his teams quarterback, Jeanty moved to running back and dominated the competition with the nearest team being a 9-hour bus ride away.

Three years back stateside playing normal high school football in Texas and three years at Boise State later and Jeanty has turned into a running back prospect that doesn't come around often.

Hes 132 yards away from breaking Barry Sanders FBS single-season rushing record, and hell have a chance to do it in the Broncos quarterfinal playoff game at the Fiesta Bowl on New Years Eve.

His Heisman moment: Like Hunter, Jeantys case is not about one individual play.

Its about the jaw-dropping numbers he put up on a weekly basis.

But the play that best sums up Jeantys talent came in the first quarter of a game against Washington State on the same day as Hunters play against UCF.

It was second-and-10 at the Boise State 36-yard line and Jeanty took a basic handoff from the pistol formation.

Running between the tackles, Jeanty was touched by the first two Wazzu defenders before he got back to the line of scrimmage.

He was nearly tripped up by another defender.

Three different defenders had their hands on him about 5 yards into the play.

None were able to bring him to the ground and a few seconds later, Jeanty was free and sprinting by everyone into the end zone.

Quotable: "The whole defense, every single week, is geared toward stopping me and they still couldn't." Jeanty Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel celebrates after the Big Ten championship NCAA college football game against Penn State, Saturday, Dec.

7, 2024, in Indianapolis.

(AP Photo/AJ Mast) Key stats: 3,558 passing yards, 28 passing touchdowns to 6 interceptions, 73.2% completion rate, 166.6 passer rating, 192 rushing yards, seven rushing touchdowns How he got here: Across six seasons and now for three different programs, Gabriel will be the elder statesman Saturday night.

Gabriel is focused on the national championship trophy he could raise Jan.

20.

Hes already passed Bo Nix for the most career starts in NCAA history and hes the all-time record holder for career touchdowns.

Hes fewer than 800 yards from breaking Case Keenums career passing yards leader.

He won 10 games as a true freshman at UCF and wore the golden cowboy hat after an epic comeback win over Texas in the Red River Showdown.

Now he's led the unbeaten Ducks into the first 12-team playoff as the No.

1 overall seed.

His Heisman moment: It was dubbed at the time as the biggest game of the regular season.

It was No.

2 Ohio State at No.

3 Oregon in Eugene and it lived up to its billing.

Trailing by six in the fourth quarter, Gabriel perfectly read the Buckeye defense and kept the ball himself, making a few players miss on the way to the end zone for the go-ahead score.

The Ducks didnt need their veteran quarterback to play the hero many times this fall, but he answered the call every time they asked him to.

Miami quarterback Cam Ward (1) warms up before an NCAA college football game against Syracuse on Saturday, Nov.

30, 2024 in Syracuse, N.Y.

(AP Photo/Adrian Kraus) Key stats: 4,123 passing yards, 36 passing touchdowns to 7 interceptions, 67.4% completion rate, 171.1 passer rating, 196 rushing yards, 4 rushing touchdowns How he got here: Like Gabriel, Ward has spent his final season of college football (his fifth) at a third school.

And like Hunter, Ward also began his career at the FCS level.

As a zero-star recruit of West Columbia, Texas, Ward began his career at Incarnate Word in San Antonio and his 2020 freshman season was actually played in the spring of 2021 due to COVID-19 restrictions and lasted just six games.

After throwing for over 4,600 yards and 47 touchdowns as a sophomore, Ward transferred to Pullman, where he starred as one of the nations least-talked-about elite quarterbacks.

Now, after leading Miami to 10 wins in 2024, everyone knows Ward and he will be one of the top quarterbacks taken in the 2025 NFL draft, alongside buddy Shedeur Sanders, with whom he shares a trainer.

His Heisman moment: There was a controversial ending as Virginia Techs last-second, game-winning Hail Mary was overturned and ruled incomplete.

But that play was only required because of the brilliance of Ward.

With 2 minutes left, he avoided one sack and with another Hokies defender draped all over him, flipped the ball to tight end Riley Williams, who nearly took the ball into the end zone for the go-ahead score.

Ward took care of that on the next play, though, and Miamis unbeaten run to start the season was kept alive..

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