Travis Hunter names 3 Heisman winners he looked up to before his grand ceremony at NY

Colorado two-way star Travis Hunter has had a lot of success under Coach Prime with the Buffs. He transferred from Jackson State last season and won the Paul Hornung Award during his debut campaign with the team.

This season, in the Big 12, Hunter is the favorite to win the Heisman and be crowned as the best player in college football.

Travis Hunter is excited to attend the Heisman ceremony in New York City. It is scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 14 at around 8 p.m. ET. Before the ceremony, the cornerback/wide receiver met with the press for a pre-ceremony interview.

During the interaction, Hunter was questioned about his favorite Heisman winner. The two-way star had a detailed answer, explaining the Heisman stars he considers great role models.

"Not a specific one," Hunter said. "But I definitely have a lot of, you know, looking at Lamar Jackson, Johnny Manziel, Jameis Winston. All the guys, you know, that I looked up to.

"Lamar Jackson is, you know, from the same state that I'm from. So I definitely looked up to him a lot, went to the same high school with my father ... Then, seeing Johnny Manziel do all the crazy type things. Athletic stuff. So I definitely looked up to a lot of them."

Cleveland QB Jameis Winston played for Florida State during his collegiate career. He won the Heisman during the 2013 season when he helped the Seminoles win the natty with an undefeated 14-0 record. Winston recorded a total of 4,057 yards and 40 touchdowns passing during his Heisman-winning season.

Baltimore QB Lamar Jackson played for the Louisville Cardinal in college before being drafted by the Ravens in the 2018 NFL draft. He won the Heisman during the 2016 campaign when he put up 3,543 yards and 30 TDs.

Finally, Johnny Manziel, the ex-Texas A&M star, won the Heisman during the 2012 season. He also became the first freshman to win the coveted award that campaign when he tallied a total of 3,706 yards and 26 touchdowns passing.

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Travis Hunter gets a vote of confidence from Notre Dame HC Marcus Freeman as the Heisman favorite

With just a few hours left, Travis Hunter and Ashton Jeanty are the two favorites to win the Heisman this season. Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman came forward to reveal his choice between these two players.

On RGIII's show, Freeman picked Travis Hunter as the undisputed Heisman winner. He then justified his decision by talking about the Buffs star's two-way talent.

"I'm gonna start by saying I haven't watched either of them play a game," Freeman said. "I've seen the highlights and both are amazing players. But to see what Travis Hunter is doing on both sides of the ball, it's unprecedented.

"I know Charles Woodson did it. But I don't know, was Charles Woodson's stats on both sides of the ball as impressive as Travis Hunter? I mean it's unbelievable. To play how many plays at that high of a level ... I would vote for Travis Hunter."

Various sources state that Hunter has the best odds to win the Heisman. Ashton Jeanty may have something to say about that.