Colorado WR/CB Travis Hunter is the AP college football player of the year

Travis Hunter is a throwback-type player — an elite receiver one moment, a lockdown cornerback the next — who rarely leaves the field and has a knack for making big plays all over it.

The Colorado Buffaloes' two-way standout (see: unicorn) even celebrates at an elite level, unveiling imaginative dance moves following touchdowns and interceptions, some of which include the Heisman Trophy pose. It's one of the many awards he's in line to win.

Hunter is The Associated Press college football player of the year, receiving 26 of 43 votes Thursday from a panel of AP Top 25 voters. Boise State tailback Ashton Jeanty finished second with 16 votes, and Arizona State running back Cameron Skattebo received one vote.

"Couldn't do what I do without my team," Hunter said in an email on a trip to Las Vegas for an awards ceremony. "So I view being up for these awards as team awards."

A player with his particular set of skills doesn't come around that often. He's a flashback to the days of Charles Woodson at Michigan or Champ Bailey at Georgia. Or even his coach, Deion Sanders, a two-way star in the NFL.

The prospect of significant playing time on both sides of the ball is what led Hunter to join Sanders at Jackson State and why he followed Sanders to Boulder.

"Coach Prime was the only coach who would consider allowing me to do what I'm doing," said Hunter, who's expected to be a top-five pick next spring in the NFL draft, possibly even the No. 1 overall selection. "He did it and knows what it takes — how much you have to be ready on both sides of the ball."

Want to fuel Hunter? Simply tell him he can't.

"I'm motivated when people tell me I can't do something," Hunter said. "That I can't dominate on both sides of the ball. I want to be an