Travis Hunter's rise to Heisman Trophy favorite - ESPN

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. — There are massive concrete barriers blocking what were once entrances to the Metro Extended Stay hotel. The empty and cracked parking lot has patches of overgrown weeds sprouting from the asphalt, and the ditches surrounding the property are covered in overgrown brush and littered with trash.

The hotel is gone, but a single black mailbox still stands on the large lot not far from Georgia Route 316, a lone, somber reminder of the three-story building that once housed numerous families and residents.

In high school, University of Colorado two-way star Travis Hunter lived at the hotel with his mother, stepfather and three siblings in a single room. There were two beds, a bathroom and little privacy for schoolwork or anything else.

Hunter's coaches at nearby Collins Hill High weren't aware of his circumstances when he showed up unannounced during the summer before his freshman year in 2018. They only knew that Hunter, who had moved to the Atlanta suburb with his family from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, was different.

«His dad said he was a day one starter on varsity,» said Collins Hill High coach Drew Swick, who was the team's outside linebackers coach when Hunter enrolled. «We all kind of chuckled and laughed. We hear that all the time.

»When we saw him for the first time in practice, we're like, 'Damn, he isn't lying. This kid is legit.'"

Hunter has been different from nearly everyone else at each stop of his football career. It's why the 21-year-old receiver and cornerback — a rare two-way player — won the 2024 Heisman Trophy in a decisive win and might be the top overall pick in next year's NFL draft.

Hunter said winning the Heisman Trophy was his dream as a kid, but the idea of hoisting the stiff-armed