Shedeur Sanders Says Mom Pilar Called Him To Find Out If He’s a Heisman Finalist Like Travis Hunter

The Colorado Buffaloes were one of four schools to have a Heisman Trophy finalist this year. Wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter, the odds-on favorite for the award, is the Buffs’ potential winner. Quarterback Shedeur Sanders – the Johnny Unitas Award recipient – is not.

Sanders posted tremendous numbers for Colorado this year. This led his mother, Pilar, to believe he’d be in consideration for the Heisman. Unfortunately, he had to break the news to her. He recounted doing do on the latest episode of The Travis Hunter Show.

“My mom called me. She was like ‘oh, you know they’re announcing the finalists! Did you make it?’ I said, ‘I don’t know.’ She said, ‘Well, it’ll be on TV later on.’ I said, ‘oh, aight’… I done had the talk of shame.”

Sanders seemed to know he wouldn’t reach the Heisman’s final stage. He spent a lot of time hyping Hunter up for the honor over the past month and publicly stated he doesn’t “really care” about the Heisman on his own podcast earlier this week. Nonetheless, talking about it with his mom had to be a tough conversation.

How did Travis Hunter learn about his Heisman finalist status?

Sanders and Hunter shared laughs as Sanders detailed his phone call. Afterward, Hunter informed Sanders he found out he was a Heisman finalist at a different award ceremony. He knows the Heisman is one-of-one, so he wasn’t satisfied with his invite to the party. He’s focused on winning it.

“I was at an awards ceremony when I got announced [as a Heisman finalist], and I was like, ‘bro, I don’t care about that’… [that’s] not an accomplishment right now… hopefully I win it though.”

With his mantle already full, nobody can fault him for that mentality. Hunter has already been named the Associated Press college football Player of the Year and picked up three other honors:

• Walter Camp Award – NCAA Player of the Year
• Chuck Bednarik Award – Defensive Player of the Year
• Fred Biletnikoff Award – Most Outstanding Receiver

Finalist distinction is fine and dandy, but history doesn’t remember who finished in second place (or worse). Hunter won’t truly etch his name into the annals of college football lore unless he captures the Heisman. It’s a tough reality that stands despite all his other accomplishments, and why he craves it more than any other award.