The guy that runs the sales team I work with is a demanding sort and a cockeyed optimist, relentless in driving his minions to persevere no matter how disparaging or discouraging the challenge of getting a “yes” may prove to be. Bluntly, most people are initially resistant to being sold something, and sometimes their determination not to be can result in a move he calls “giving you the Heisman”. Which if you look at the move of the athlete in the storied trophy is as definitive as any rejection can be. Even he relcutantly admits that when that happens, it’s not worth it to try and persist in any attempt to educate, convince or cajole. He seems to hate violence.
And with this past weekend being the 97th awarding of the Heisman Trophy, that image and its celebration was in full view. Arguably one of the best stories in recent memory reached its pinnacle Saturday night in New York, as THE ASSOCIATED PRESS’ Mike Fitzpatrick wrote:
Travis Hunter turned every play into prime time — on both sides of the ball — and ultimately took home the Heisman Trophy.
Now he’s got a leg up on his celebrity coach at Colorado.
The two-way star won college football’s most prestigious award Saturday night, punctuating a tireless performance all season by a dynamic player with a unique combination of skills.
“Never thought I would be in this position,” a tearful Hunter said as he thanked everyone from his fiancée to family members and former and current coaches. “It’s crazy. Belief takes you a long way.”
A big-play wide receiver and lockdown cornerback, Hunter dominated on offense and defense for coach Deion Sanders and the Buffaloes, joining late running back Rashaan Salaam in 1994 as the only Heisman winners in school history.
THE SPORTING NEWS’ Zain Bando added further context:
Both men embraced with hugs and tears upon learning of the announcement. Hunter earned it over fellow finalists Cam Ward (Miami Fla., quarterback), Ashton Jeanty (Boise State running back) and Dillon Gabriel (Oregon quarterback). All of whom have had tremendous success for their own programs, but the difference with Hunter was his presence as a two-way superstar at cornerback and wide receiver.
Hunter played the majority of snaps on both sides of the ball, rare in today’s age of college football. This multi-versatile approach led to a season that included 14 touchdowns, 1,152 receiving yards, a fumble recovery and highlight-reel plays week in and week out.
It should have been a seminal moment for college football without distraction, especially since it’s a rare day when someone with the ability to command the spotlight as does Sanders was moved to take a back seat. He’ll have a moment to shine when he leads Colorado into San Antonio for an Alamo Bowl showdown with conference rival Brigham Young, a game Sanders has vowed Hunter and his teammate/son Shadeur Sanders will play in.
That’s more than can be said for a far less storied program that announced it was turning its back on their post-season, much in the manner the personnel that were their hired guns in 2024 already had. As CBS SPORTS’ Cameron Salerno conveyed on Saturday:
Marshall is opting out of the Independence Bowl against Army while Louisiana Tech has been tabbed to step in as a replacement, sources confirmed to CBS Sports’ Dennis Dodd. The Thundering Herd have already lost over 25 players to the transfer portal, and because of the exodus, they will no longer participate in the bowl game on Dec. 28.
The news of Marshall opting out of its bowl game comes days after coach Charles Huff departed the program to take the vacant job at Southern Miss. The Thundering Herd finished the season 10-3 and beat Louisiana 31-3 the in the Sun Belt title game.
“Any time coaches leave to take other jobs, it is emotional,” incoming Marshall coach Tony Gibson told reporters earlier this week. “And kids that are 18 to 22 years old are going to make emotional decisions instead of just breathing for a day or two.”
Some notable players who have entered the transfer portal include quarterbacks Braylon Braxton, Stone Earle and Cole Pennington and star linebacker Jaden Yates. Marshall’s leading rusher from last season, A.J. Turner, and three of the team’s top-seven leading receivers also entered the transfer portal.
Last week we authored a musing on whether in a system that now rewards eight new top teams with post-season games that don’t (yet) have a sponsor or neutral field destination there was a need for so many old-school bowls. We were concerned that given the longer-term stakes the allure of what more and more seems like a participation trophy wouldn’t sit all that well with many. This is now Exhbit A in that argument. In particular, the idea of spending the last week of the year in Shreveport, Louisiana wasn’t all that appealing even for people who are otherwise confined to the metropolis of Huntington, West Virginia.
For some far less selective schools, though, all things are relative. Look who Salerno told us who finally heeded the siren’s song of the Independence Bowl committee to fill Marshall’s void:
To determine a replacement for Marshall, it came down to sifting through a ranking of NCAA APR scores of teams that finished the 2024 season with a 5-7 record. Top of the list were the likes of Cincinnati, Wisconsin and Air Force, but the committee ultimately landed on Louisiana Tech, who landed 16th out of 17 teams among the group.
It just so happens that Tech is located about an hour away from Shreveport in an even smaller hamlet than either Shreveport or Huntington, Ruston, Louisiana. For them, I suppose this is an upgrade. Not so for the 15 other schools that also chose not to play for a chance to finish one game under .500 rather than two.
To be sure, there’s officials that are flipping mad about all of this, as THE ATHLETIC’s Ralph D. Russo penned on Sunday:
American Athletic Conference commissioner Tim Pernetti on Sunday suggested schools that withdraw from bowl games be subject to possible penalties after Marshall pulled out of the Independence Bowl against Army due to players opting out and entering the transfer portal.
“We’re extremely disappointed in Marshall’s decision to back out of their commitment to play in the Independence Bowl,” Nick Carparelli, the executive director of Bowl Season, said in an interview with The Athletic. “We saw statistics recently on the number of players that opted out, and it seems to us that there was plenty of able bodies to field a football team.
Marshall athletic director Christian Spears was with his men’s soccer team, which plays Monday in the College Cup final against Vermont, and unavailable to comment.
Naturally. Why waste one’s valuable time with anything other than a chance to play for an actual title? (Marshall did lose on national television to the Catamounts, so karma’s a bitch yet again).
And as for those dozens of players and coaches bound for points yet unknown, nary a word from them, either.
You might say they gave us the Heisman.
Courage…