The 2024 Heisman award is the most prestigious honor any college football player could receive. This award is given to the top player in college football at the end of each season. This year, the four candidates are University of Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel (QB), University of Colorado’s Travis Hunter (WR/CB), Boise State University’s Ashton Jeanty (RB), and University of Miami’s Cam Ward (QB). The sports writers of the Valley Echo gave their takes on who they believe should win the Heisman Trophy.

Nate Faber: Dillon Gabriel, Quarterback for the Oregon Ducks

Senior Dillon Gabriel is the most underrated quarterback in college football: he is the best player on the best team. Despite the fact that many believe Gabriel will not be a first-round draft pick, he still led his team to an undefeated record and into the College Football Playoffs (CFP). In 13 games, Gabriel has thrown for 3,558 yards, 28 touchdowns, and seven rushing touchdowns. He has also earned the honor of being named the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year.

Something that is not talked about enough during the Heisman race is the team’s record. A team’s record often reflects the performance of its quarterback. He threw for 341 yards against Ohio State and had four touchdowns against Penn State in the Big 12 championship, showing he can compete against even the best of teams.

Now comparing Dillon Gabriel to Cam Ward, Ward has played no ranked teams this year and despite this, he still has more interceptions than Gabriel. When facing top-ranked opponents, Ward has no experience. Also, Gabriel has more completions on less pass attempts, making him a more accurate quarterback.

Comparing Dillon Gabriel to Travis Hunter, Hunter is a very good receiver, but he is only ranked third in receiving yards in the Big 12—not a typical stat for a Heisman contender. On the other side of the ball, Hunter is tied at 17th place in the country for interceptions with four. While it is impressive to play multiple sides of the ball, he is not the best at either position and is not top three either.

Finally, comparing Dillon Gabriel to Ashton Jeanty, Jeanty may be the leading rusher in college football, but he is ranked 14th in yards per carry in college football, and he is playing against teams in the Mountain West conference. Currently there are only 53 players in the NFL from the Mountain West conference versus the Big Ten’s 288 active players. Not only does this show the lack of competition in the Mountain West, it further highlights how impressive Gabriel’s stats are in a strong conference like the Big Ten. Many people make the argument that Jeanty ran all over Oregon in week two, showing he can compete. However, at the time, Oregon was not developed as a team yet, which showed in a week one 24-14 win by Oregon over Idaho, which is still an unranked team in a weak conference.

Overall, being the best player on the best team in the nation leaves no question for the Heisman winner. Undoubtedly, Dillon Gabriel is the clear winner.

Noah Reiser: Travis Hunter, Wide Receiver and Cornerback for the Colorado Buffaloes

Junior Travis Hunter is currently doing what no other college player is doing, dominating while playing both sides of the ball. He excels at playing both wide receiver and cornerback for Colorado. On offense, Hunter has 92 receptions for 1,152 yards and 14 receiving touchdowns. He also has one rushing touchdown. On defense, he has 31 tackles, one forced fumble, and four interceptions. 

There have been talented two-way players in this sport before. However, there has never been someone like Hunter. Hunter doesn’t simply take the random snap at a secondary position, knowing he won’t be targeted; he plays both positions full-time. He played a total of 1,443 snaps this season, even though he missed half of a game due to injury (which also limited his play in the following two games).

The last time we saw someone excel on both sides of the ball was in 1997, when Charles Woodson played both defensive back and wide receiver for the University of Michigan. Woodson won the Heisman that year, even though he was not playing both positions at the same level as Hunter. 

You cannot blame Colorado’s success and failure solely on Hunter. He is not to blame for Colorado not making the College Football Playoffs (CFP). In the game that Colorado lost to No.18 Kansas State, Travis got injured and missed the second half of that game. Colorado only lost that game by three points. If Hunter had not been injured, Colorado might have won that game and potentially qualified for the CFP, which would have further strengthened his Heisman case. Colorado also had a huge improvement from last season. Last season, the Buffalos went 4-8, while this season they are 9-3 and playing in a bowl game.

When comparing Hunter to the other three candidates, the clear thing that sticks out is that he plays two positions at an elite level, while everyone else plays just one position. With Dillon Gabriel and Cam Ward, Gabriel’s stats are less impressive than Ward’s, which makes his case for the Heisman less compelling. For Ward, even though he has these “nonchalant” plays and far throws, he did not play against high-level competition. Ward’s team did not play a ranked opponent all season.

Now the main comparison comes between Ashton Jeanty and Hunter, the two favorites. Jeanty competes against teams in the Mountain West Conference, such as Nevada and San Jose State, while Hunter has faced stronger competition in the Big 12, including teams like Kansas State, Baylor, Arizona, and Kansas. Both have done well, but Hunter has against tougher competition.

Hunter is a top-five receiver and a top-five corner, not a top-five receiver who takes snaps at corner or a top-five corner who takes snaps at receiver. This year, Hunter has already won the Walter Camp Player of the Year Award, the Chuck Bednarik Award, the Biletnikoff Award, the Lott Impact Trophy, the Paul Hornung Award, the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, and the AP Player of the Year Award. I do not see how Travis Hunter, dominating both sides of the ball and winning award after award, cannot walk away with the Heisman Trophy on Saturday night.

Trevor Kirkby: Ashton Jeanty, Running Back for the Boise State Broncos

Junior Ashton Jeanty has had an unforgettable season for the champions of the Mountain West Conference. Jeanty’s impressive stats this season, including 2,497 rushing yards and 30 total touchdowns, have made him a Heisman contender.

Jeanty’s game log is impressive, with at least 127 rushing yards in every game and at least one touchdown in all but one game. Jeanty has had nine runs of at least 50 yards this year, far more than any other player in college football. Ashton Jeanty has put Boise State on the map this year, leading them to multiple nationally televised games and a spot in the first-ever 12-team College Football Playoff.

Each of the other three candidates has multiple other elite players who contribute significantly to each respective team’s success. In addition to Travis Hunter, Colorado has Deion Sanders as its head coach, which has brought great publicity to the program. Dillon Gabriel of Oregon has led his team to an undefeated regular season, but Oregon has the help of running back Jordan James and has the ninth ranked scoring defense in the country. Finally, Cam Ward of Miami has Senior Xavier Restrepo, a receiver with 1,127 yards— 8th for receiving yards in the country. 

Boise State’s quarterback Maddux Madsen ranks 57th in QBR and 38th in passing yards. The team’s leading receiver, Senior Cameron Camper, has 837 receiving yards—which is also outside the top 50. Jeanty is providing the entire value of the Boise State Broncos by himself, especially compared to the other candidates. 

For people opposed to Ashton Jeanty winning this year’s Heisman Trophy, they often turn to the weak strength of schedule that Boise State played this year. However, this argument is completely invalid. A player’s performance should be evaluated based on his own merits, regardless of the strength of his opponents. The fact that Jeanty is doing it against Division I competition, while the rest of his team is clearly not as elite as the teams of the other candidates, should absolutely not be held against them. 

In closing, while  it is impossible to quantify in sports where teams will end up without a certain player, the Boise State Broncos would be completely irrelevant and not on anybody’s radar if not for Ashton Jeanty’s incredible season—based on the numbers and his overall impact. He is by far the most valuable player in college football, and he should win the Heisman trophy with ease as a result. 

Josh Reiser: Cam Ward, Quarterback for the Miami Hurricanes

Senior Cam Ward is one of the best quarterbacks in the nation with 4,123 passing yards and 36 passing touchdowns. He led the nation in touchdown passes and was second in passing yards.  

While a main argument against Ward is that his team isn’t in the playoffs, one of the best players in the nation won’t be competing in the 12-team college football playoffs because of his defense. Ward was elite on offense, as his team led the nation with 46.8 points per game. The Hurricanes were second in the nation with 74 touchdowns and first in the nation with 562 total points. Award-wise, Ward won nine awards throughout his senior season: including the ACC Player of the Year, ACC Offensive Player of the Year, and Davey O’Brien Award (nation’s top QB).

Comparing Ward to Dillon Gabriel, the other quarterback Heisman finalist, Ward had 565 more passing yards and eight more touchdown passes than Gabriel. Travis Hunter: Sure, it’s amazing that he can play both sides of the ball, but his stats just aren’t there. When Devonta Smith won the Heisman in 2020, he had 1,856 receiving yards and 23 touchdowns. Hunter only has 1,152 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns. 

Finally, comparing Cam Ward to Ashton Jeanty. Yes, Jeanty has a lot of yards and a lot of touchdowns, but he has played weak competition compared to everyone else. I will give him credit for 200 yards and three touchdowns against the top-ranked team in the nation, Oregon, but I just don’t think he would have done this well on a bigger team. If he was on Alabama, I don’t think he would be able to rush for 200 yards against teams like Georgia, Texas, and Tennessee. A player who was running all over mediocre teams doesn’t deserve an award of this caliber when other players have to play top defenses in the nation.  

We need to give the trophy to the player who deserves it the most. If it weren’t for his defense, I truly believe that Cam Ward and the Canes would be sitting at the number two seed with a 13-0 record. With that being said, Cam Ward should win the Heisman, and it really shouldn’t be a discussion.