<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0ZDDD2_0vMMbz1u00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0ZDDD2_0vMMbz1u00" width="750" height="375" ><figcaption>AP Photo/Peter Joneleit</figcaption></figure><p>Seemingly everyone had a feeling Ashton Jeanty was going to be in for a fantastic 2024 season – maybe even worthy of Heisman Trophy buzz – before a snap had been played this year.</p><p>After a stellar 2023 season where he was the Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year and the G5 Offensive Player of the Year, there was plenty of hype surrounding the young running back.</p><p>But nobody knew he would start this season the way he did. Jeanty ran for 267 yards and six touchdowns – four in the first half alone – in Week 1 against Georgia Southern. That has catapulted him into serious Heisman Trophy consideration.</p><p>But could Jeanty actually end up winning the award?</p><h2>Ashton Jeanty of Boise State Broncos Football Making Heisman Hopes Known</h2><p>Boise State posted on social media about Jeanty’s Heisman candidacy back in August. And considering how important he is to the offense and the team overall, it makes sense.</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">To be worthy of the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HEI2MAN?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HEI2MAN</a>, you have to be <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BuiltDifferent?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BuiltDifferent</a><a href="https://t.co/2fDkCvClio">https://t.co/2fDkCvClio</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BleedBlue?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BleedBlue</a><a href="https://t.co/RgfmK1rZ6h">pic.twitter.com/RgfmK1rZ6h</a></p>— Boise State Football (@BroncoSportsFB) <a href="https://twitter.com/BroncoSportsFB/status/1828941842546864304?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 28, 2024</a><input type="image" src="empty.gif" style="opacity:0" onerror="s=document.createElement(&quot;script&quot;);s.src=&quot;https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js&quot;;document.body.appendChild(s);"></blockquote><p>But after his performance in Week 1, plenty of media members began gushing about Jeanty.</p><p>The Heisman Trophy Twitter/X account posted a podcast interview with him. Robert Griffin III, a Heisman winner himself during his career at Baylor who’s now a college football commentator, called Jeanty his No. 1 Heisman Trophy frontrunner after the first week of the season.</p><p>But no matter how great Jeanty is, he faces an uphill battle to actually receive the award. Group of Five players have historically not won the Heisman very much – and haven’t at all this century. It’s also becoming more and more difficult for non-quarterbacks to win it in recent decades.</p><h2>Who’s The Last Group of Five Player To Win The Heisman Trophy?</h2><p>Roger Staubach was the last player from a team currently in the Group of Five to win the Heisman Trophy when he did so with Navy back in 1963.</p><p>Others have won it when their teams weren’t in a league that’s considered a “power” conference today. Ty Detmer is the most recent example of that. He won the Heisman in 1990 as the quarterback for BYU, which was in the Western Athletic Conference at the time but is now in the Big 12.</p><h2>Who’s The Last Running Back To Win The Heisman Trophy?</h2><p>Derrick Henry is the last running back to win the Heisman during his junior year at Alabama in 2015.</p><p>Going back to 2000, only three running backs have won the Heisman. That includes Reggie Bush of USC in 2005 and Mark Ingram of Alabama in 2009.</p><h2>Who’s The Last Non-Quarterback To Win The Heisman Trophy?</h2><p>Devonta Smith, a wide receiver at Alabama, won the Heisman four years ago in 2020. He’s only one of four receivers to ever win the award.</p><p>Smith is also one of four non-quarterbacks to win the Heisman since 1999.</p><p>Since the award was first given out back in 1935, 38 quarterbacks have won the Heisman. Running backs lead the way with 40 Heisman winners, and that’s not including the two fullbacks and two halfbacks which have also won the trophy. Two tight ends have earned the award as well.</p><p>Charles Woodson, a cornerback while he was at Michigan, is still the only defender to take the Heisman when he did so in 1997.</p><h2>Ashton Jeanty Stats</h2><p>After Week 1, Jeanty has 267 yards and six touchdowns on the ground. Those numbers represent single-game BSU football records, and the six rushing TDs tied a Mountain West record. </p><p>He’s averaged 13.4 yards per carry. He’s also caught three passes for four yards.</p><p>Last year as a sophomore, Jeanty ran for 1,347 yards and 14 touchdowns on 220 carries for an average of 6.1 yards per carry. He hauled in 43 passes for 569 yards and five scores.</p><p>Jeanty was a freshman in 2022 and split carries with George Holani, another Boise State great who’s now in the NFL with the Seattle Seahawks. That season, Jeanty ran for 821 yards and seven touchdowns on 156 carries for a 5.3 yards-per-carry average while catching 14 passes for 155 yards.</p><h2>Ashton Jeanty NFL Draft Chances</h2><p>Jeanty is the No. 1-ranked Group of Five prospect for the 2025 NFL Draft class in my rankings. Barring something catastrophic, he’ll be drafted in April if he decides to move on from the college game.</p><p>However, his draft stock is affected by the same factors as his Heisman Trophy candidacy.</p><p>For starters, Jeanty is a running back, a position that’s largely been undervalued in recent years by NFL franchises. Does that mean Jeanty won’t be selected at any point? No. But it makes it tough for a team to justify taking him early.</p><p>Jeanty is also a Group of Five player. Even if he continues to thrive against the Mountain West this year, there’s a strong possibility he’s still not the first running back off the board because an NFL franchise will value a Power Four back more.</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">With the TV issues, here's a look at Boise State's touchdown by Ashton Jeanty. Broncos take the first lead. <a href="https://t.co/NJ9AnkKLsn">https://t.co/NJ9AnkKLsn</a></p>— Colton Pool (@CPoolReporter) <a href="https://twitter.com/CPoolReporter/status/1829978884181565893?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 31, 2024</a><input type="image" src="empty.gif" style="opacity:0" onerror="s=document.createElement(&quot;script&quot;);s.src=&quot;https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js&quot;;document.body.appendChild(s);"></blockquote><h2>Ashton Jeanty Height &amp; Weight</h2><p>Jeanty is a 5-foot-9, 215-pound running back playing in his junior season at Boise State. He’s originally from Jacksonville, Florida, and went to high school at Lone Star High School in Texas.</p><h2>Boise State Game This Week</h2><p>Jeanty will have a chance to build his Heisman resume this week when Boise State plays Oregon.</p><p>The matchup, which will be televised on Peacock, will kick off at 10 p.m. ET on Saturday, Sept. 7, at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon.</p><p>The Ducks are a -21 college football betting odds favorite against Boise State, with the Over/Under being 60.5. The moneyline for Oregon is -1200, while it’s +750 for Boise State.</p><h2>Boise State Score Last Week</h2><p>Boise State defeated Georgia Southern 56-45 on the road in Week 1.</p><p>Jeanty obviously had a monster performance in that game. But he’ll need to continue to play at a high level this week when the Broncos take on Oregon, which is ranked No. 7 in the Associated Press Top 25.</p><p>A big game against the Ducks might solidify Jeanty’s place in the Heisman conversation.</p></div></body>

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Ashton Jeanty Heisman Trophy Watch: Why The Boise State RB Could Be The Best Player In College Football

Seemingly everyone had a feeling Ashton Jeanty was going to be in for a fantastic 2024 season – maybe even worthy of Heisman Trophy buzz – before a snap had been played this year. After a stellar 2023 season where he was the Mountain West Offensive Player of...

Ashton Jeanty Heisman Trophy Watch: Why The Boise State RB Could Be The Best Player In College Football

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