“They Made Their Decision”: Travis Hunter Gets Real About the Jim Thorpe Snub

Travis Hunter has arguably had the most historic season ever for a college football player. This year, the Buffs star has won 8 awards, including the Heisman Trophy. However, there was one trophy that eluded him — the Jim Thorpe Award. Winning this award too would have meant a clean sweep of wins for the Buffs star. Surprisingly, though, the two-way star doesn’t mind the snub.

After his Heisman trophy win, Hunter was asked to share his thoughts on missing out on the Jim Thorpe award. In response, the two-way star argued that he didn’t want to dwell on the snub because it was a decision beyond his control.

But in true Travis style, his response was flamboyant as well, as he later argued that the committee snubbing him for the award — especially now that the CB won the Heisman — should be the ones to “look bad.”

“I don’t want to talk about the Thorpe. They made their decision… I have the best trophy in college football so it doesn’t look bad on me, it looks bad on them.”

The Jim Thorpe Award, which is given to the best defensive back of the season, was won by Texas Longhorns DB Jahdae Barron. As good as Travis was as a CB this year, Jahdae was, by all accounts, a class above. Apart from being a major reason behind the Longhorns being the best pass defense in college football, the DB also led the SEC in interceptions (5).

As a result, it was no wonder to see the Jim Thorpe Award jury, consisting of the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame in-house award committee, past recipients, and members of the National College Football Awards Association, along with prominent sports writers and journalists heavily favor [65% votes] the Texas star.

That said, Travis, as he admitted himself, isn’t taking it to heart that he didn’t get this nod. After all, his trophy cabinet this season is flush with awards won. Apart from winning the Heisman Trophy, the Buffs star was also named the AP Player of the Year, received the Paul Hornung Award, and the Walter Camp Award for being the best player of the season.

Despite Travis’ defensive contributions being ignored by the Jim Thorpe Selection committee, the jury for the Bednarik Award, the Lott Impact Trophy, and the Big 12 ensured that Hunter was given recognition for his defensive performances. Lastly, Hunter also received the Biletnikoff Award for being the best WR of the season.

All these awards simply prove why Travis Hunter is one of the most complete and talented college football players we have witnessed in recent times. And it will be a while before we see someone like him again.