Ashton Jeanty didn’t win the Heisman, but he’s still chasing history at Boise State

[ad_1] Ashton Jeanty was into basketball greater than soccer as a child. So earlier than he grew as much as be a 5-foot-9 battering ram in cleats, his favourite athlete was LeBron James. Jeanty, who bounced across the globe because the son of a Naval officer, spent a piece of his childhood in Florida when James was on the Miami Warmth.

“Seeing (LeBron) beat all the chances,” mentioned Jeanty, “I really feel like I’ve been doing that very same factor in my profession.”

It’s why the Boise State working again will without end be the reply to that very same query — Who’s your favourite athlete? — for a era of Broncos followers.

Jeanty didn’t win the Heisman Trophy, ending second to Colorado’s Travis Hunter. However he did acquire probably the most factors by a Heisman runner-up and compelled the narrowest margin of defeat since 2009. He additionally took house the Maxwell Award (participant of the yr), Doak Walker Award (finest working again) and unanimous All-American honors. And Jeanty has one other main milestone in his sights.

He enters the Faculty Soccer Playoff at 2,497 speeding yards this season, simply 131 yards shy of faculty soccer’s official single-season document, set by Oklahoma State’s Barry Sanders in 1988. Contemplating Jeanty has averaged 192.1 speeding yards per sport this season, there’s not less than a good likelihood he rewrites that document within the quarterfinals of the Faculty Soccer Playoff in opposition to Penn State on Dec. 31.

However Jeanty is greater than only a Heisman runner-up and future first-round NFL working again who's on the verge of a record-breaking statistical accomplishment. At a Boise State program with a status for big slaying and a wealthy historical past of working backs, he has managed to face above the remainder.

“Ashton Jeanty is phenomenal for faculty soccer, and he’s going to be phenomenal for the NFL,” mentioned Boise State coach Spencer Danielson. “Not solely from his play on the sphere but in addition the tradition he brings with him.”

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There may be some nuance to Sanders’ document. He rushed for two,628 yards in solely 11 video games on his approach to the Heisman in 1988; Jeanty has already performed 13 video games. And Sanders’ unofficial document is 2,850 yards if you happen to add within the 222 yards he racked up within the Vacation Bowl, earlier than bowl sport stats have been formally counted.

There will likely be those that low cost Jeanty’s document if he does set it, however Sanders received’t be amongst them, sending a tweet forward of Boise’s victory within the Mountain West championship wishing Jeanty luck.

“My followers can gripe, however information are made to be damaged & I'm rooting for you,” Sanders wrote.

Hey @AshtonJeanty2 – Wishing you luck tonight.My followers can gripe, however information are made to be damaged & I'm rooting for you. I really like seeing all these @NFL and @NCAA #RBs displaying the worth of the place. #RunTheRock pic.twitter.com/bk0NtPbAL0

— Barry Sanders (@BarrySanders) December 6, 2024

Requested about Sanders’ mark, Jeanty mentioned it could be “just like the cherry on high, to interrupt a document that’s been round for many years,” particularly after he got here up simply quick within the Heisman race. However as Boise State enters the inaugural 12-team Playoff as a No. 3-seed from the Group of 5, the document — attained or not, contested or not — doesn’t change what Jeanty has achieved.

The stats are staggering, like if Paul Bunyan performed highschool soccer. Practically 2,500 speeding yards, an FBS-leading 30 whole touchdowns, 7.3 yards per carry and 6 video games with 200-plus speeding yards. His season low was 127 yards in opposition to Portland State, and he bought pulled at halftime. Jeanty outrushed 115 FBS groups this season all by himself. The following closest participant to him when it comes to speeding yards is North Carolina working again Omarion Hampton with 1,660. That’s lower than the 1,889 yards Jeanty has gained after contact. He’s the primary again to eclipse 2,000 yards speeding since 2019.

“I really like watching Ashton play — the combo of physicality, pace and management,” mentioned Alexander Mattison, a former Boise State working again now within the NFL with the Las Vegas Raiders. “However I’ve been capable of get to know him, not simply as a soccer participant however a real individual. It’s enjoyable to see him get every part that he deserves. He loves the sport, and if you happen to love the sport, it'll love you again.”

There may be a powerful pedigree of working backs at Boise State, with Jeanty set to grow to be subsequent in a protracted line of Broncos bell cows who've gone on to play within the NFL. Jeanty surpassed Cedric Minter as this system’s all-time main rusher this season and broke quite a lot of different information Minter has held since not less than 1980. However the string of modern-day tailbacks stretches to Ian Johnson, who famously received the 2007 Fiesta Bowl on the Statue of Liberty handoff, adopted by Jeremy Avery, Doug Martin, D.J Harper, Jay Ajayi (the previous single-season document holder), Jeremy McNichols, Mattison and George Holani.

It’s fairly a listing, and that’s simply the working backs. Former quarterback Kellen Moore is the winningest QB in FBS historical past (50) and this system’s solely different Heisman finalist (he completed fourth in 2010). He stays a Boise State icon. But after this season, nobody compares to what Jeanty has produced on the sphere or what he embodies off it.

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“He’s a unanimous captain, a part of our management council,” mentioned Danielson, who added that he meets one-on-one with Jeanty every week after these council conferences.

“Each single time we have now these conferences, it's nothing about Ashton. He’s asking concerning the crew, a participant, asking how he might help lead higher, have extra of an influence,” mentioned Danielson. “That's unusual. He’s completely different in all aspects.”

Jeanty does care concerning the awards and accolades. He hasn’t shied from that, whether or not rattling off the person targets he had for himself this season or lamenting his Heisman end by stating: “I actually felt like I ought to’ve walked away with the award.” It’s a part of why he returned to Boise State this season, believing he may obtain every part he needed proper the place he was.

However Jeanty additionally cares concerning the legacy he'll go away behind. It’s why he embraced being a crew captain and chief and de facto spokesperson. It’s why he spurned extra profitable title, picture and likeness (NIL) presents to switch elsewhere final offseason. It’s why he established the Ashton Jeanty Endowed Scholarship for Soccer — in October, even earlier than he broke all of the information and have become a Heisman finalist and carried the Broncos to a Mountain West title and first-round bye within the CFP. The scholarship has raised greater than $180,000 towards its $200,000 purpose, which is able to assist future Boise State athletes.

“He’s like a film star right here,” mentioned athletic director Jeramiah Dickey. “We needed to lastly get him safety so we may minimize off the autograph and picture traces. It was our accountability to assist him as a result of he’s such an excellent child, he didn’t wish to say no to anybody.”

Jeanty is already probably the most adorned participant in program historical past and has put Boise State in place to compete for a top-flight nationwide championship for the primary time. He has an opportunity to set a single-season speeding document that would stand for many years.

And none of it'll outlast what he has meant to Boise State soccer and the neighborhood that surrounds it.

“Tradition is concerning the people who find themselves right here — simply bringing again what Boise State’s been, having a optimistic affect over everyone,” mentioned Jeanty. “Folks received’t bear in mind the stats, they’re not going to recollect the video games. However they’re going to recollect how I handled individuals, how I carried myself all through my time right here and the influence that had.”