Now he’s a Broadway star: Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty named a Heisman Trophy finalist
In no surprise to anyone who’s paid attention to college football this season, Boise State junior running back Ashton Jeanty was named a Heisman Trophy finalist on Monday night.
Jeanty was announced as a finalist for the prestigious award during ESPN’s “Monday Night Countdown” show. He’ll be heading to New York City for the Heisman ceremony on Saturday night alongside Colorado’s two-way star, Travis Hunter; Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel; and Miami quarterback Cam Ward.
The Heisman finalists are determined by who received the most points from the 928 voters: 870 media members, 57 living Heisman winners, and one fan vote. Voting closed Monday ahead of the announcement on ESPN.
The Heisman Trophy ceremony will begin at 6 p.m. Mountain time Saturday on ESPN. Jeanty is the second finalist in school history — quarterback Kellen Moore was a finalist in 2010 and finished fourth in the voting. Moore also was in the top 10 in voting in 2009 and 2011.
Jeanty, who leads the nation’s rushers with 2,497 yards and 29 touchdowns, enters the ceremony as the second-favorite at +1000, behind only Hunter (-2500), according to oddsmakers.
Jeanty’s campaign began on his first carry of the season in August in Statesboro, Georgia. Breaking free of a few Georgia Southern tacklers, he gave fans a preview of what they’d see in 2024 with a 77-yard touchdown run and a Heisman pose to cap it off.
“I just told myself whenever I made a big play, some type of play that proves that I’m that caliber player, you knew I was going to pull that (celebration) out,” Jeanty said after the victory.
Jeanty continued to prove he was that caliber of player throughout the season, leading Boise State to its first-ever College Football Playoff berth and a first-round bye as the No. 3 seed.
He rushed for 267 yards in that first game and put together five more 200-yard games, including last Friday in the Mountain West title game, when he rushed for 209. He averaged 7.3 yards per carry, and his lowest single-game output of the season was 127 yards on just 11 carries against Portland State — when he played only the first half.
“I don’t think it should be close,” Boise State head coach Spencer Danielson said Sunday about the Heisman voting. “I know I’m biased; I’m around him every day. But (he should win) for what he’s done personally, what he’s willed our team to do as our top leader.”
Jeanty is officially only 132 yards from beating Barry Sanders’ single-season rushing record of 2,628 yards, but that requires elaboration. In Sanders’ Heisman-winning season at Oklahoma State in 1988, he did not get to count his 222-yard effort in the Holiday Bowl under NCAA rules at the time. That would have given him 2,850 yards.
Sanders also amassed the 2,628 total in just 11 games, whereas Jeanty has played 13 games already — though he sat out the second halves of two games. Jeanty is averaging 192.1 yards per game, meaning a typical performance in the Fiesta Bowl would allow him to set the new record.
Regardless, if Jeanty does not win, he will have put together the most prolific season for a non-Heisman-winning running back in NCAA history.
Jeanty is up against two quarterbacks and a two-way star
The Heisman Trophy has been heavily tilted toward quarterbacks the past two-plus decades, but that’s likely to change this year. Ward and Gabriel will be at the ceremony, but Hunter and Jeanty are the favorites.
No running back has won the award since Alabama’s Derrick Henry in 2015. A wide receiver, Alabama’s DeVonta Smith, won the Heisman in 2020. The last time a defensive star topped the voting, it was Michigan’s Charles Woodson in 1997, but he also was a dangerous punt and kick returner.
Here’s what to know about the other three finalists:
Travis Hunter - Colorado
Hunter has been hyped as the favorite almost all season because he is doing something so unusual, starting on defense as a cornerback and offense as a wide receiver. He had multiple games with both a touchdown and interception as a two-way star.
Despite missing time in three games with a shoulder injury, he finished the season with 92 catches for 1,152 yards and 14 touchdowns. He had four interceptions and often forced the ball to be thrown opposite his direction.
Hunter addressed the Heisman Trophy race between himself and Jeanty in October on a podcast with former NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III.
“Y’all see Ashton Jeanty, but it’s not like we haven’t seen a running back that’s good,” Hunter said on the podcast. “We haven’t seen a player that plays both ways, and I’m gonna keep saying that.”
When Smith won the Heisman for the Crimson Tide in 2020, he had 117 receptions for 1,856 yards and 23 touchdowns — but he didn’t play nearly every snap on defense as well.
Dillon Gabriel - Oregon
Boise State fans got a good look at Gabriel earlier this year, when the Broncos fell 37-34 to Oregon on a last-second field goal. Gabriel was 18-for-21 for 243 yards and two touchdowns in the game.
Since then, Gabriel has led the Ducks to an undefeated season and the top seed in the College Football Playoff. He’s thrown for 3,558 yards, 28 touchdowns and just six interceptions. He’s also rushed for 192 yards and seven scores.
Gabriel has been around the block in college football. He started his career with UCF and spent three seasons there, before transferring to Oklahoma for two stat-packed seasons. He spent his final year of eligibility at Oregon.
Heading into the playoffs, Gabriel is the NCAA’s all-time leader in total touchdowns (183) while ranking second in passing touchdowns (149), passing yards (18,140) and total yards (19,375).
Cam Ward - Miami
Ward was among the Heisman Trophy favorites for much of the season, especially after guiding the Hurricanes (10-2) to a 9-0 start before they lost 28-23 to Georgia Tech. Miami lost to Syracuse a few weeks later — causing Ward’s team to miss the ACC title game and fall out of the CFP bracket, all of which led to his Heisman odds slipping.
Ward leads the nation in passing touchdowns (36) and has the second-most passing yards (4,123). Prior to transferring to Miami, Ward was the starting quarterback at Washington State.
This story was originally published December 9, 2024 at 4:43 PM.
