LAS VEGAS -- Travis Hunter, the versatile college football player who plays both cornerback and wide receiver at Colorado added another accolade to his resume, winning the Lott IMPACT Trophy on Monday.
For two decades, the Lott IMPACT Trophy has honored elite defensive college football players who excel on and off the field. This year, finalists included Hunter, along with safety Caleb Downs from Ohio State, defensive lineman Mikail Kamara from Indiana and defensive end Nic Scourton from Texas A&M.
The ceremony, usually held in Newport Beach, was held in Las Vegas this year at the same time as the national football foundation (NFF) conference. NFF CEO Steve Hatchell showed support for the award and gave opening remarks at the ceremony.
Namesake of the trophy and hall of famer Ronnie Lott was also in attendance and shared his passion for recognizing younger players and encouraging excellence both on and off the field.
Former college teammate and fellow hall of famer Marcus Allen shared stories highlighting Lott’s character and emphasized again to the younger athletes the importance of character on the off the field. “You’re rich by what you give and you're poor by what you keep. At the end of the day, the trophies will get old and rusty, but what you do for your fellow man is lasting” said Allen.
Despite upcoming bowl games and college football playoff games, all four finalists were able to attend the ceremony in person.
All spoke about the importance of giving back and setting an example for people in their community, especially kids.
Scourton, who announced he was entering the 2025 NFL draft today, expressed that transferring from Purdue to Texas A&M was in part to be closer to the community he grew up in and shared “Football has taught me a lot about myself on and off the field, it’s just been about growth.”
Each elite player is highly motivated not only to give back to their community, but to improve and win.
Downs, who was also recently announced as Big10 defensive back of the year, is just a sophomore. He shares, “I just want to continue to play at a high level, continue to increase my game. Really look at what weaknesses I’ve had, I want to grow and continue to work on them and get better.”
Downs also shared that despite Ohio State’s last loss to rival Michigan, the whole locker room is locked in and focused on winning against Tennessee.
Kamara expressed similar excitement for the Indiana vs Notre Dame matchup happening in just a little over a week. “My coach went to Notre Dame so this is a big game that he’s excited for and I’m excited for us to go out there and dominate, continue to improve and show everybody what Indiana is about.”
Downs shares his faith helps keep him grounded while Hunter attributes it to the years of experience he’s had playing ball. After being announced as the winner, he thanked his fiance and attributed his success and attitude in part to her.
Also sharing, “It makes me feel really good, really happy about myself, I feel like I took a step in the right direction. I definitely set goals at the beginning of the season. I met some of them, some of them I didn’t”
While Hunter was present at the ceremony awaiting the results of the Lott Impact trophy, he was consecutively waiting for the lists of Heisman finalists to be released. “I’ve been waiting for Monday the ninth to come for a long time,” said Hunter. He was in fact a finalist along with Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty, Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel and Miami quarterback Cam Ward. Hunter shares he wants Sheduar Sanders and coach Prime with him at finals and that he’s planning and looking forward to playing in the Alamo Bowl with his team against BYU.