With conference championship weekend in the rearview and the first 12-team College Football Playoff field officially set, next up on the calendar is the 2024 Heisman Trophy ceremony.
The award, given annually to the top player in college football since 1935, will be presented to this year's winner on December, 14 at a ceremony in New York City.
The last three Heisman Trophy winners (Jayden Daniels in 2023, Caleb Williams in '22 and Bryce Young in '21) were all quarterbacks while 16 of the last 17 turned into first-round picks in the NFL Draft. The lone second-rounder was Derrick Henry in 2016.
The finalists for the 2024 award were officially announced on Monday evening. Here's a look:
2024 Heisman Trophy Finalists QB Dillon Gabriel, Oregon
Now with his third FBS team since entering college in 2019, Gabriel has amassed 18,000+ yards and 150+ passing touchdowns over his six-year career.
In his first season with Oregon, the native Hawaiian has led the Ducks to a 13-0 record, a Big Ten Championship in their first season with the conference, and has Eugene feigning for their first national title.
Gabriel is a consensus fifth-round pick in the upcoming 2025 NFL draft.
WR/CB Travis Hunter, Colorado
Hunter, a true dual-threat player playing nearly every snap on both offense and defense for the Colorado Buffaloes this season, is the consensus favorite to win the Heisman Trophy in 2024.
Originally committed to Florida State in 2022 as the No. 1 overall player in his class, Hunter famously flipped to Jackson State on National Signing Day, opting to play for coach Deion Sanders and the Tigers' FCS program.
The 21-year-old followed Sanders to Colorado in 2023, playing the last two seasons in Boulder. He won the Paul Hornung Award last year as the NCAA's most versatile player, and won the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year in 2024. Hunter is widely considered to become one of the top picks in the 2025 NFL Draft.
RB Ashton Jeanty, Boise State
In a year without Travis Hunter, Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty would—literally—be running away with the Heisman Trophy.
The junior out of Jacksonville has taken the NCAA by storm in 2024, rushing for an eye-popping 7.9 yards per carry on the season and amassing 125+ yards in all 13 games. He is just 134 yards away from breaking Barry Sanders' single-season rushing yards record—a feat he'll have a real chance to break in the Broncos' College Football Playoff quarterfinal game coming up on New Year's Eve.
Jeanty is expected to be the top running back off the board in April's NFL draft.
QB Cam Ward, Miami
After originally declaring for the 2024 NFL draft, Cam Ward changed course and decided to use his final year of eligibility to transfer from Washington State to the University of Miami for the 2024 season.
Ward led the Hurricanes to a 9-0 record out of the gate and quickly developed himself into one of the top passers in college football. Unfortunately, a 1-2 finish down the stretch found Miami on the outside looking into the College Football Playoff.
The 22-year-old will surprisingly suit up for the Hurricanes in their upcoming Pop-Tarts Bowl appearance before entering the 2025 NFL draft. Ward is likely to be selected in the first round.
