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Why Ashton Jeanty Is Having the Best Season Since Barry Sanders

Originally posted on Mike Farrell Sports | By JC Nevils | Last updated Oct 12, 2024 10:08 AM ET

By JC Nevils

To many people, Barry Sanders is the greatest running back to ever play the game of football. While he only played for 10 years in the NFL, he would end up sitting at second all-time when he finally retired in 1999 with 15,269 yards right behind the great Walter Payton. Many wondered why he chose to retire before passing and eventually obliterating the record, but that’s neither here nor there.

Now take it all the way back to his college days at Oklahoma State, and it was much more of the same. His first two years he sat behind another hall of famer in Thurman Thomas, but the next season would be one for the ages. During his junior year back in 1988, he would absolutely shatter the single-season rushing record for yards along with touchdowns ending with a whopping 2,628 yards and 37 touchdowns. Add his bowl game stats, which didn’t count back then, and Sanders would ultimately end up with 2,850 yards and 42 touchdowns on 7.6 yards per carry. In reality those numbers will never be broken, but some have come close.

Barry Sanders Oklahoma State Cowboys at Nebraska Cornhuskers Memorial Stadium Oct. 1988 Lincoln, NECREDIT: Malcolm Emmons/ US Presswire

Now enter the year 2024 and we have Ashton Jeanty . The star running back out of Jacksonville, FL has been a playmaker ever since he stepped foot on the campus of Boise State starting as a freshman, but few knew much about him until this year. The Boise State faithful is the exception, the knew what they had since last season, but this season he is doing unimaginable things on the field to the point where you have no choice but to tune in.

Through the first five games, Jeanty has already amassed over 1,000 yards and 16 touchdowns on only 95 carries. To put it in perspective, he is averaging a mind-blowing 10.9 yards per carry, in which no one has sustained over a full season and he hasn't played twice in the second half.

Oct 5, 2024; Boise, Idaho, USA; Boise State Broncos running back Ashton Jeanty (2) runs for gain during the first half against the Utah State Aggies at Albertsons Stadium.© Brian Losness-Imagn Images

Not only is he racking up the yards, but it’s the way he is doing it. He can run through you, around you, or just plain make literally everyone on the defense miss and take it 80 yards. I haven’t seen this type of play in my lifetime, which is why I say he is having the best season since Barry Sanders. People talk about the level of competition he plays, but it doesn’t matter. His game against Oregon disproves that anyway.

When you do the things he does with his speed, power, vision, and balance, they will translate anywhere. Now I’m not saying he is Sanders by any means, but if he keeps this up, which I fully expect him to do, he will surely be bringing home the Heisman trophy back to Idaho.

Boise State will play tonight at 11 EST on CBS Sports Network against the 2-3 Hawaii Rainbow Warriors. Hawaii has been stringent against the run, averaging only 120.6 yards per game, good for second in the Mountain West. Still, against Ashton Jeanty, that won't matter.

This article first appeared on Mike Farrell Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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