No matter your persuasions or rooting interests, the 2024 Heisman Trophy ceremony was a watershed moment for College Football. A lot of conventional wisdom and a bunch of fallacies dissipated in real time when Travis Hunter walked up that podium. One of the notions Travis’ triumph cut right through was that the Heisman is essentially a quarterback award. It even went to a player plying their trade in what is perceived as a “lesser” conference among the Power 4. Unfortunately for Warren Sapp, he couldn’t overcome these very notions 30 years ago.

In some ways, Travis Hunter’s victory is a win for the ones before him who couldn’t break this proverbial glass ceiling. Warren Sapp is one such “victim”. The Colorado Buffaloes’ graduate assistant and former D-tackle is perhaps better known for his HOF-adjacent career in the NFL. However, he was a problem at the college level, too. Sapp was a Heisman contender in 1994 but finished 6th. Slightly begrudgingly for him, the accolade went to his Miami Hurricanes’ teammate, quarterback Gino Torretta.

Warren Sapp took to Instagram and expressed his delight at Travis Hunter receiving the Heisman. He perhaps feels he’s lived his own dream vicariously through Travis. “30 yrs ago I didn’t get to take it home but @db3_tip did!! Congratulations our Unicorn!! #SkoBuffs #SappNotFishing #HeismanIsHome,” wrote Sapp as he posed with Travis and the iconic trophy.

Although he doesn’t coach Travis directly, simply being in the proximity of greatness tends to be brushed off. Sapp has been credited for helping Colorado solve their issues at the line of scrimmage, which is his forte. Protection for the quarterback and getting to the opposition’s quarterback were two of their biggest problems last year. Warren Sapp has impacted both sides of the trenches. This impact is reflected in the metrics as well as in the eye test.

While things looked rosy between the pair, there was reason for doubting that in the lead-up to the ceremony. Warren Sapp himself stirred discourse, which caught on. The talking point was about whether he was salty about Travis’ imminent Heisman win. This stemmed from his perceived animosity with the powers that be, denying him 3 decades ago.

Warren Sapp’s previous social media activity around Travis caused a stir

This acknowledgement and praise for Travis comes off the back of a rather cryptic post. The post was perceived as a backhanded compliment of sorts. Sapp posted a picture of Gino Torretta and Travis on IG. He captioned it “My #2 and #3 Favorite Heisman Finalists!! @ginotorretta13 @db3_tip#SkoBuffs” This was a subtle way of saying putting himself on the pedestal as no.1

So, did Warren Sapp really have a legitimate case for the Heisman? The numbers and film would suggest so. That 1994 season, his junior year, Sapp garnered 84 tackles and 10.5 sacks. Although he fell short of the Heisman, he did muster himself some hardware. Sapp won the Bronko Nagurski Trophy (awarded to the best defensive player), the Lombardi Award (best lineman or linebacker) and the Bill Willis Award (best defensive lineman). 

The harsh reality is that players on the defensive side of the ball just don’t win the Heisman. If Travis was exclusively a shutdown corner, he’d not have had the fortune either. Regardless, the ink is dry on Warren Sapp’s career. It was illustrious, to say the least. Even the likes of Travis Hunter would do well to make 4x First-Team All-Pro selections.