Like - Ashton Jeanty
College football is a curious sport because all of the players are extremely high level and yet there’s also a great disparity in competition because there are so many teams. This usually means that teams with the most resources end up being the best teams in the entire country because they get the best players.1 But this year, the best running back in the nation is playing for Boise State, the perennial underdog team that plays on the famous bright blue field. His name is Ashton Jeanty. If you haven’t heard of him, that’s understandable because he hasn’t received a ton of media coverage. I only found out about him because my girlfriend is from Idaho and her brother started sending us texts about Jeanty. Anyway, here’s what you need to know. He’s 5’9” and weighs 216 lbs. Before he runs the ball, he stands straight up like Michael Myers. He’s fast, although his speed isn’t what makes him impressive. His greatest skill is his ability to bounce off defenders. His best runs seem to come when he goes up the middle, breaks a few tackles, and finds his way to the outside to pick up big yards. He is a human pinball and he’s having a wild run, despite having almost the entire defense stacked against him. If he plays in two more games, he will very likely break Barry Sanders’s all-time rushing record. Will he win the Heisman? It seems unlikely.2 But maybe he’ll win something bigger instead.
This kind of talent disparity appears to have only gotten more pronounced since the NIL rule changes took place as kids are now courted with Lamborghinis.
Despite his potentially record breaking season, Travis Hunter appears poised to win the award for his two-way play for the University of Colorado Buffaloes.