Six weeks into the college football season, the frontrunners for the Heisman Trophy have separated themselves from the pack, and many focus on big names from the big schools of the Power Four conferences to win the hardware at the end of the season.
However, the Mountain West Conference quite possibly has the best player in college football right now, as Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty is not only a Heisman candidate, but someone who could break the great Barry Sanders’ NCAA single-season rushing record of 2,628 yards.
Jeanty has electrified college football fans with his ability to break out for big runs and score touchdowns virtually at whim. It is not just fans noticing, as Heisman Trophy-winning running back Mark Ingram II has been enthralled by his performance, too.
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"Dude is the real deal," Ingram told Fox News Digital while discussing his time partnering with Tide for its #TideTackles NFL campaign, which has sent him and other NFL greats around the country to different tailgates.
Being out of the Power Four conferences – SEC, ACC, Big Ten and Big XII – there are some skeptics about Jeanty posting 1,031 yards with 16 rushing scores through just five games. Ingram does not want to hear it.
"Everyone wants to say, ‘Who’s he playing?’ I’m like, ‘He went for 200 [yards] and change and four TDs on Oregon, who is a top four team right now,’" Ingram said. "And it’s not like he’s running through big holes. Before last week’s game, he had 588 yards after contact and had 44 forced missed tackles. So, the man is doing a lot of this on his own and he has the speed, he has the power, he picks up pass protection. So, in my mind, he’s a complete back.
2024 HEISMAN WATCH: ASHTON JEANTY, CAM WARD SIT ATOP LEADERBOARD
"We have some great running backs in college football right now, but you can’t talk RBs and college football without mentioning Ashton Jeanty. He is RB1 right now and making a strong case for the Heisman Trophy. Dude is special and Boise State would not be where they are without him."
Anthony "Spice" Adams also said his piece on Jeanty, explaining how he reminds him of a certain future Hall of Fame teammate during his time in the NFL.
"In 2000, we played Miami [Hurricanes] and this was when Miami had everybody," Adams began, referencing his time playing for Penn State. "…The running backs were Clinton Portis, Willis McGahee and then Frank Gore. This kid is basically a healthy Frank Gore. This is what Frank Gore would’ve looked like if hadn’t had torn his ACL. That’s who he reminds me of – low center of gravity. The guy’s just standing straight up in the backfield, he’s not in a two-point stance. He doesn’t have his hands on his hips."
Jeanty’s unorthodox stance before the snap is the least viral thing he has done this season, as Ingram mentioned all the tackles he has bounced out of and yards he has picked up because of his ability to fight through contact, especially when it is time to get into the end zone.
While Jeanty does lead the country in rushing and touchdowns, Ingram does think that Boise State as a team has to accomplish a certain feat for him to be a true Heisman contender at the end of the day.
"In order for him to win it, he has to keep at this pace that he is," Ingram said. "But also, Boise State, as a team, has to make it -- they have to get that Group of Five bid into the College Football Playoff. If he continues at this pace, makes a run for Barry Sanders’ single-season record, but also Boise State does good as a team and get that bid, I think he’ll have a legit shot to win it."
To put into context what Jeanty has been doing, Ingram’s Heisman season with Alabama in 2009 saw him rush for 487 yards with six scores on 83 carries through his first five games. Even Derrick Henry, another Crimson Tide great who won it in 2015, and USC’s Reggie Bush, arguably one of the best college careers of all time, had less production than Jeanty.
He will have stiff competition to go against – Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe and Colorado cornerback Travis Hunter are among the frontrunners. However, like Ingram and Adams see along with the rest of college football fans, he is doing things that cannot be explained on the field or on the stat sheet.
And he’s got many more games to add to his very impressive resume for the 2024 campaign.
TACKLING TAILGATE STAINS WITH TIDE
Now retired, both Ingram and Adams get to participate in tailgates before big games each weekend, and that is exactly what they are doing with Tide, as they have interacted with different fans from Kansas City, to Buffalo, to New Orleans during the NFL season to see just how messy they can get with local foods and rituals.
"I think it’s dope that Tide is partnering up with myself and guys like Mark Ingram. You know there’s going to be stains at these tailgates, so it just makes sense that tide is going to be there to tackle those things," Adams said.
Ingram added, "Both of us, obviously playing all those years, you don’t really get a chance to tailgate and be able to go back to New Orleans and be able to tackle these stains with Tide. I had my boy Spice with me. He had a whole band with him. We were eating po’boys and everything like that. We had music, we had food and had great energy with Tide."
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