ESPN documentary follows Ashton Jeanty as he preps for NFL Draft
Former Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty hasn’t been drafted yet, but with the attention he’s getting, you’d think he’s already in the NFL.
Jeanty is one of four NFL-bound football players being featured on ESPN’s “Hey Rookie: Welcome to the NFL,” which follows four players in the weeks leading up to the NFL Draft. Jeanty is featured with Penn State defensive end Abdul Carter, Georgia defensive end Mykel Williams and Ohio State quarterback Will Howard.
The four-episode documentary will air its final episode after the NFL Draft on April 24. Each 30-minute episode designates a segment to each player, with Jeanty featured first in episode 1, which aired Monday night.
Jeanty’s approximate 5-minute segment followed him from a signing ceremony with his agency, Disruptive Sports, to predraft workouts. The 5-foot-9 running back, who rushed for a nation-leading 2,601 yards in 2024 and finished runner-up in Heisman Trophy voting, answered questions about his favorite play from last season and which running backs he models his game after.
His favorite play?
“For sure against Washington State, where I broke like six tackles and ran like 60 (yards),” Jeanty said. “That’s when everybody really started being like, ‘No. 2 for Boise State, he’s really like that.’”
Despite being just the fourth game of the season, that touchdown against Washington State was his 10th, and the first of a four-touchdown game as the Broncos beat the Cougars 45-24.
Jeanty was swallowed at the line of scrimmage before bouncing off multiple tackles and bursting down the right sideline for a 64-yard score.
Later in his segment, Jeanty explained what he wants teams to see in him ahead of the draft, and perhaps explained why the Washington State touchdown is his favorite.
“I want teams to learn who I am as a person and how I bring that to life on the football field,” Jeanty said. “I want to show teams that the tape isn’t fake, that I can move and I can run these running back drills, that I am explosive, I am elite.”
Jeanty spent most of the season being compared to Hall of Fame running back Barry Sanders, who rushed for a single-season record 2,628 yards in his Heisman Trophy-winning 1988 season for Oklahoma State. Jeanty fell just short of that record.
But Sanders wasn’t among the players he said he tries to model.
“Marshawn Lynch and his running style, being physical,” Jeanty said. “Christian McCaffrey in the receiving game and running routes. Derrick Henry ... I’m not as big, but that stiff-arm, I had to add that to my bag myself.
“And it’s hard to compare yourself to guys who were so exceptional, but there are just so many tools in my bag, so it just depends on the scenario.”
Episode 2 of “Hey Rookie” will air on ESPN starting next Monday, April 14.
