Ashton Jeanty was more thinking about basketball than football as a baby. Before he grew right into a 5-foot-10 battering ram in cleats, his favorite athlete was LeBron James. Jeanty, who traveled the world because the son of a naval officer, spent a part of his childhood in Florida when James played for the Miami Heat.
“Watching (LeBron) beat the odds,” Jeanty said, “I feel like I did the same thing in my career.”
That's why Boise State's running back will eternally be the reply to the identical query: Who is your favorite athlete? – for a generation of Broncos fans.
Jeanty didn’t win the Heisman Trophy, ending second to Colorado's Travis Hunter. But he earned probably the most points from a Heisman runner-up and compelled the narrowest defeat since 2009. He also won the Maxwell Award (player of the 12 months), the Doak Walker Award (best running back) and unanimous All-American Award honors. And Jeanty has her sights set on one other necessary milestone.
He enters the College Football Playoff with 2,497 rushing yards this season, just 131 yards shy of the official single-season college football record set by Oklahoma State's Barry Sanders in 1988. Considering Jeanty has averaged 192.1 rushing yards per game this season, there's not less than probability he overturns that record within the College Football Playoff quarterfinals against Penn State on Dec. 31.
But Jeanty is greater than only a Heisman runner-up and future NFL first-round running back on the verge of a record-setting statistical performance. At a Boise State program with a fame as giant-killers and a protracted history of running backs, he has managed to face out from the remainder.
“Ashton Jeanty is phenomenal for college football and he will be phenomenal for the NFL,” Boise State coach Spencer Danielson said. “Not just from his play on the field, but also from the culture he brings with him.”
Go deeper
Can Penn State stop Ashton Jeanty? “He just won’t go down.”
There are some nuances to Sanders' record. He ran for two,628 yards in only 11 games on his method to the Heisman in 1988; Jeanty has already played 13 games. And Sanders' unofficial record is 2,850 yards for those who include the 222 yards he amassed within the Holiday Bowl before bowl game stats were officially counted.
There will likely be those that devalue Jeanty's record if he actually sets it, but Sanders won't be amongst them, sending a tweet wishing Jeanty good luck before Boise's victory within the Mountain West championship.
“My fans can complain, but records are meant to be broken and I’m keeping my fingers crossed for you,” Sanders wrote.
Hey @AshtonJeanty2 – I wish you good luck this evening.
My fans can complain, but records are supposed to be broken and I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you. I like seeing all of this @NFL And @NCAA #RBs Displays the worth of the position. #RunTheRock pic.twitter.com/bk0NtPbAL0– Barry Sanders (@BarrySanders) December 6, 2024
When asked about Sanders' accomplishment, Jeanty said it will be “like the icing on the cake to break a record that has stood for decades,” especially after he got here up just short within the Heisman race. But as Boise State enters its first 12-team playoffs because the No. 3 seed within the Group of 5, the record — achieved or not, challenged or not — doesn't change what Jeanty achieved.
The stats are staggering, as if Paul Bunyan played highschool football. Nearly 2,500 rushing yards, FBS-leading 30 total touchdowns, 7.3 yards per carry and 6 games with over 200 rushing yards. His season low was 127 yards against Portland State and he was pulled at halftime. Jeanty singlehandedly outpaced 115 FBS teams this season. The next player closest to him when it comes to rushing yards is North Carolina running back Omarion Hampton with 1,660. That's lower than the 1,889 yards Jeanty gained after contact. He is the primary since 2019 to eclipse 2,000 yards.
“I love watching Ashton play – the mix of physicality, speed and control,” said Alexander Mattison, a former Boise State running back who now plays within the NFL with the Las Vegas Raiders. “But I was able to get to know him not only as a football player, but also as a real person. It's fun to see him get everything he deserves. He loves the game, and if you love the game, it will love you back.”
There is a formidable lineage of running backs at Boise State, with Jeanty set to be the subsequent in a protracted line of Broncos star players who’ve gone on to play within the NFL. Jeanty passed Cedric Minter as this system's all-time leading rusher this season and broke quite a lot of other records Minter has held since not less than 1980. But the road of recent tailbacks extends to Ian Johnson, who won the 2007 Fiesta Bowl handing over of the Statue of Liberty, followed by Jeremy Avery, Doug Martin, DJ Harper, Jay Ajayi (the previous single-season record holder), Jeremy McNichols, Mattison and George Holani.
It's a fairly long list, and that's just the running backs. Former quarterback Kellen Moore is the winningest QB in FBS history (50) and this system's only other Heisman finalist (he finished fourth in 2010). He stays a Boise State icon. But after this season, nobody can compare to what Jeanty did on the sphere or what he embodies off the sphere.
Go deeper
Boise State and Ashton Jeanty: Cinderella in a steel-toed boot
“He is a unanimous captain, part of our leadership council,” said Danielson, who added that he meets with Jeanty in person every week after those council meetings.
“Every time we have these meetings it’s not about Ashton. He asks about the team, a player, how he can help lead better and have more influence,” Danielson said. “This is unusual. It’s different in every facet.”
Jeanty cares deeply concerning the awards and accolades. He hasn't shied away from counting down the person goals he set for himself this season or lamenting his Heisman finish, saying, “I really felt like I should have walked away with the award.” That is considered one of the explanations he returned to Boise State this season because he believed he could accomplish anything he wanted where he was.
But Jeanty also cares concerning the legacy he’ll leave behind. For this reason, he has made it his mission to be team captain, leader and de facto spokesman. For this reason, he turned down more lucrative name, image and likeness (NIL) offers to transfer elsewhere last offseason. That's why he created the Ashton Jeanty Endowed Scholarship for Football – in October, before he broke records, became a Heisman finalist and led the Broncos to a Mountain West title and a first-round CFP bye. The scholarship has raised greater than $180,000 toward its goal of $200,000 to support future Boise State student-athletes.
“He’s like a movie star here,” athletic director Jeramiah Dickey said. “We finally had to get him security so we could stop the autograph and photo lines. It was our responsibility to help him because he’s such a good boy, he didn’t want to say no to anyone.”
Already probably the most decorated player in program history, Jeanty has put Boise State in position to compete for a serious league national championship for the primary time. He has a probability to set a single-season rushing record that would last for a long time.
And none of it can outlast what he meant to Boise State football and the community around it.
“Culture is about the people who are here – they just bring back what Boise State was and have a positive influence on everyone,” Jeanty said. “People won’t remember the stats, they won’t remember the games. But they will remember how I treated people, how I conducted myself during my time here and the impact that had.”
—Vic Tafur contributed reporting
image credit : www.nytimes.com