By MIKE FITZPATRICK AP Sports Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Same iconic statue, very different breed.

With Colorado two-way star Travis Hunter and Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty leading the way, these certainly aren’t your typical Heisman Trophy contenders.

Sure, veteran quarterbacks Dillon Gabriel of the Oregon Ducks and Cam Ward of No. 15 Miami are also finalists for college football’s most prestigious award, but the 90th annual ceremony, set for Saturday night at Lincoln Center in New York City, offers a fresh taste this year.

For starters, none of the four are from the powerhouse Southeastern Conference, which has produced four of the last five Heisman winners — two each from Alabama and LSU.

Jeanty, who played his home games for a Group of Five team on this strange blue field in Idaho, more than 2,100 miles from Manhattan, is the first running back ever invited to the Heisman party since 2017. After leading the country with 2,497 rushing yards and 29 touchdowns, he joined quarterback Kellen Moore (2010) as the only Boise State players to be named a finalist.

“The running back position has been overlooked for some time,” said Jeanty, who plans to enter the 2025 NFL Draft.

“There were a lot of great running backs before me that should have been here in New York, so I think it’s great to continue the legacy of the running back position. … I feel like I represent the entire position.”

With the votes already cast, all four finalists spent Friday conducting interviews and sightseeing in the Big Apple. They received custom-made commemorative watches to recognize their achievement.

“I’m not a security guard, but I like it,” Hunter said, smiling.

The players also took photos under the giant billboards in Times Square and later posed with the famous Heisman Trophy, awarded to the country’s most outstanding player since 1935.

Hunter, the big favorite, was careful not to touch it yet.

The wide receiver/cornerback is a dominant player on both offense and defense who rarely leaves the field. He is a throwback to past generations and the first full-time, true two-way star in decades.

On offense this season, he had 92 catches for 1,152 yards and 14 touchdowns, helping the 20th-ranked Buffaloes (9-3) to their first bowl bid in four years. On defense, he made four interceptions, broke up 11 passes and forced a critical fumble that secured the overtime win against Baylor.

Hunter played 688 defensive snaps and 672 more on offense – the only Power Four Conference player with more than 30 snaps on both sides of the ball, according to a Colorado study.

Call him college football’s answer to baseball unicorn Shohei Ohtani.

“I think I laid the groundwork for more people to come in and go in two directions,” Hunter said. “It starts with your mindset. If you believe you can do it, then you will do it. I also do a lot of treatments. I keep up with my body. I get a lot of rest.”

Hunter is Colorado’s first Heisman finalist in 30 years. The junior from Suwanee, Georgia, followed flashy coach Deion Sanders to the Rocky Mountains from Jackson State, an HBCU that plays in the lower FCS tier, and has already picked up a stunning combination of accolades this week, including The Associated Press- Player of the Year.

Hunter also won the Walter Camp Award for National Player of the Year, the Chuck Bednarik Award for Best Defensive Player and the Biletnikoff Award for Best Wide Receiver.

“It just shows I did what I had to do,” Hunter said.

Next, he wants to bolster his impressive hardware collection by becoming the second Heisman Trophy winner in Buffaloes history, joining late running back Rashaan Salaam in 1994.

“I have worked so hard for this moment that securing the Heisman would definitely shape my legacy in college football,” Hunter said. “Being here now is like a dream come true.”

Jeanty led No. 8 Boise State (12-1) to a Mountain West Conference championship, which earned the Broncos a third-place finish in this year’s College Football Playoff. They have a first-round bye before facing the SMU-Penn State winner in the Fiesta Bowl quarterfinals on New Year’s Eve.

The 5-foot-10, 220-pound junior from Jacksonville, Florida, won the Maxwell Award as the best college football player and the Doak Walker Award as the best running back. Jeanty has five touchdown runs of at least 70 yards and has the fourth-most rushing yards in a season in FBS history, making it the all-time leader among 115 teams this year. He needs 132 yards to break the FBS record set by Heisman Trophy winner Barry Sanders at Oklahoma State in 1988.

But in a pass-happy era, Jeanty is trying to become the first running back to win the Heisman Trophy since Derrick Henry for Alabama nine years ago. In fact, quarterbacks have claimed the award all but four times this century.

Gabriel, a transfer from Oklahoma, led Oregon (13-0) to a Big Ten title and a No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff in his first season in the league.

The sturdy senior from Hawaii passed for 3,558 yards and 28 touchdowns with six interceptions. His 73.2% completion rate ranks second nationally and he’s trying to join quarterback Marcus Mariota (2014) as Ducks players to win the Heisman Trophy.

“I think all the memories come back to you,” Gabriel said.

Ward threw for 4,123 yards and led the nation with a school-record 36 touchdown passes for the high-scoring Hurricanes (10-2) after transferring from Washington State.

The senior from West Columbia, Texas, won the Davey O’Brien National Quarterback of the Year award and is looking to go home with the Heisman as Miami players along with QBs Vinny Testaverde (1986) and Gino Torretta (1992).

“I just think you have to play with a certain ruthlessness at the quarterback position,” Ward said.

-The Associated Press