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Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty says it would “mean a lot” to earn his position’s first Heisman Trophy since Derrick Henry in 2015.
“It would mean a lot, you know, not just for me but I think for the position of running backs,” Jeanty said Friday on ESPN’s SportsCenter.
“And then just the award itself, you know, cause lately its’s been a, you know, Power-5 quarterback award, but just shedding light that no matter where you’re at if you’re a talented player you will be recognized and you will be rewarded for it.”
Jeanty currently leads all college football players with 1,031 rushing yards for 16 rushing touchdowns through the first five games of his junior season.
That’s a full 260 yards ahead of Iowa’s Kaleb Johnson, who with 771 yards stands as the current runner-up for the FBS lead.
Jeanty has also established himself as one of the most efficient runners in college football by averaging 10.9 yards per carry on just 95 total attempts.
That efficiency has allowed Jeanty to take the FBS lead while still allowing Boise State to rest their star back. Despite sitting out the last two quarters of the Broncos’ Saturday blowout of Utah State, Jeanty finished out the victory having run 13 times for 186 yards and three touchdowns.
Henry was awarded the Heisman in 2015 after setting the SEC single-season rushing record with 1,986 yards on his way to 23 rushing touchdowns for Alabama.
The last time a non-quarterback won the Heisman was in 2020, when Devonta Smith led CFB with 1,511 receiving yards, also for the Crimson Tide.
One way for Jeanty to ensure he could place his name among Henry and Smith’s despite facing a Group of Five schedule is through challenging legendary Oklahoma State running back Barry Sanders’ all-time single-season record of 2,628 rushing yards in 1988.
Jeanty would need to increase his carries from 19 per game in order to get on pace to Sanders’ standard. At his current rate, however, he is well on his way to leading Boise State toward the Group of Five spot in the CFP.
The Broncos’ quest for a berth in the inaugural 12-team playoff will continue on Saturday with a game at Hawaii.
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