Hunter Nears His NFL Draft Moment, And Other Heisman Notes

Happy (or sad) tax season to all who celebrate (or at least begrudgingly tolerate).

We are catching up on Heisman new and notes, kicked off by exciting times for our 2024 Heisman winner Travis Hunter as well as his fellow 2024 Heisman finalists.

The 2025 NFL Draft is nine days away — kicking off at 8 p.m. ET on April 24 — and Hunter was confirmed as one of 17 college players who will attend the next week’s draft in Green Bay, Wisc.

Joining Hunter under the bright lights of next week’s NFL first-round festivities will be 2024 Heisman finalists Cam Ward and Ashton Jeanty. Hunter’s teammate and fellow top-10 2024 Heisman vote-getter Shedeur Sanders, will not attend.

Hunter has been enjoying himself as he nears the start of his professional career.

He recently threw out the first pitch at a Savannah Bananas game and — if you are remotely familiar with the wildly popular and entertaining yellow-clad baseball team — you won’t be surprised to learn the pitch counted. 

Hunter’s lob to home was called a ball, but hey, Hunter can now claim pro baseball player on his resume, although he may want to wait until  next week before he starts updating it.

Interestingly, Hunter has been adamant that he plans to play on both sides of the ball in the NFL, so that resume may need a fairly small font size to squeeze in all of his endeavors. 

(By the way, do yourself a favor and also check out Hunter joining the Bananas celebrating a scored run — and his backflip at the end. It’s sure to put a smile on your face)

And on a final Hunter note, Colorado Football announced on Monday that the Buffaloes will retire both Hunter’s and Sanders’ numbers at the Buffs’ Spring Game on Saturday (April 19).

OK, we’ve got got one more Hunter tidbit. Fellow two-way Heisman winner Charles Woodson chimed in on his thoughts on where he sees Hunter in the NFL. Spoiler alert, it’s both sides of the ball, but a heavy lean on defense.

“He’s not the type of player you want to just have on the sideline for 50-60 snaps in a game,” said Woodson on Las Vegas Raider Maxx Crosby’s podcast. “I would play him as a defensive back, but offensively, I’m gonna have a package here or there, depending on our matchups that week.”

While on Crosby’s podcast, Woodson, whose NFL career included long stints with both the Packers and the Raiders, settled the age-old debate of where his heart lies — in silver and black or green and yellow.

“I would say the Raiders are my first love,” he said. “Very quickly, I understood what Raider Nation was all about. I played there a total of 11 seasons because I left and came back, so in terms of what’s going to be closest to my heart, it’s going to be the Raiders.”

Woodson’s NFL Hall of Fame career ended in 2015.

The most recent Heisman winner to hang up his cleats is 2009 winner Mark Ingram. April is the month where many former NFL players reminisce about their draft experience and Ingram is no different, recently sharing his memories on The Triple Option podcast that he co-hosts.

Said Ingram: “You’re just training, man. You’re kinda training and kinda wondering, man, ‘Where am I going to be in a couple weeks?’ That anxious feeling, you know what I mean? Like, you know you’re gonna get drafted; I knew I was gonna get drafted. I didn’t know where I was gonna get drafted. They were saying I was gonna go between 10 and 20, so I was like, ‘Ok, that sounds pretty good.’ …It’s just a real feeling, man. It’s kind of an anxious feeling. Just kind of interested in, wondering, where I am going to be in 2-3 weeks.”

If only Ingram had the Savannah Bananas to help ease the draft nerves like Hunter did!

Recent Heisman winner and 2024 NFL No. 1 pick Caleb Williams was profiled in Esquire recently, the magazine interviewing Williams tucked away deep in Denmark as he gets away from it all ahead of the 2025 NFL off, pre and regular seasona. Read it here.

A winner of the Heisman eight decades earlier, Georgia’s Frank Sinkwich recently received a symbolic tip of the cap from his hometown.

The 1942 Heisman recipient for the Bulldogs, Sinkwich was raised in Youngstown, Ohio, and is still a warmly remembered hero of the community despite his passing 35 years ago.

In March, local civic leaders saluted Sinkwich and his impact, his hometown honoring him with a mural in the city’s west side to celebrate the Youngstown community and its history.

The mural, which you can see here, is painted as a trophy case to highlight all of Sinkwich’s accomplishments on the football field.

And finally, for our crossover followers who are both fans of Heisman winners and classic sneakers, you might want to jump on Nike’s re-release of 1985 winner Bo Jackson’s “Auburn” Air Trainer SC, one of the brand’s earliest cross training shoes. Read more about it here.

Speaking of Bo, his annual Bo Bikes Bama is having its 14th and final ride on May 2 and 3. For more information on the event, which raises money for Alabama’s recovery and preparedness efforts, click here.

Later in May — May 23 to be precise — Jackson will be inducted into the Cotton Bowl Classic Hall of Fame as part of its 2025 class. Bo knows busy springs!