NEW YORK — 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.”

While posing for countless photos with the iconic statue over two days, Hunter made a point not to put his hands on the Heisman. He said he didn’t want to touch it unless it was his.

Once it finally was, he grabbed the trophy hard with two hands and let loose a happy scream: “Let’s go!”

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.

Hunter received 552 first-place votes and 2,231 points in a comfortable victory. Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty was the runner-up with 309 first-place votes and 2,017 points, the closest margin since 2009.

Hunter garnered 80.14% of possible points, the 11th-highest in Heisman Trophy history, and joined Michigan cornerback Charles Woodson (1997) as the only full-time defensive players to claim the prize. Woodson also made some big plays at wideout, but didn’t spend nearly as much time on offense as Hunter.

Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel came in third and Miami quarterback Cam Ward finished fourth in balloting for the 90th Heisman Trophy, presented annually since 1935 to the nation’s most outstanding player. This year’s ceremony was held at Jazz at Lincoln Center in Manhattan, where Sanders was in attendance.

It marked only the fifth time this century a quarterback didn’t win. The last time no signal-caller placed in the top two was 2015, when running backs Derrick Henry of Alabama and Christian McCaffrey ran 1-2 in voting.

Hunter also won The Associated Press player of the year among a string of other individual awards this week. He helped spark an impressive turnaround at Colorado, from 4-8 in 2023 when he missed 3 1/2 games because of injuries to 9-3 this year in Sanders’ second season. The 23rd-ranked (CFP) Buffaloes got their first bowl bid in four years and will face No. 17 BYU (10-2) in the Alamo Bowl on Dec. 28.

The 21-year-old Hunter has pledged to play, rather than skip the game to prepare for the NFL draft and prevent any possible injury as many top prospects do. The 6-foot-1, 185-pound junior from Georgia, plans to pass up his senior season in Boulder and is expected to be a top-five pick by the pros — perhaps even No. 1 overall.