The Broncos sensation heads to the playoff battle with a wounded lion’s energy. Ashton Jeanty couldn’t get the hero’s treatment in Times Square as Travis Hunter outdid him in a nail-biter to bring the Heisman trophy to Boulder. Jeanty, however, put together the highest points as the Heisman runner-up and hit the narrowest margin in 15 years to sit next to the top dog Heisman race aside, he overall has a mind-blowing season for the Broncos and has a further chance to add more numbers under his belt as they have Nittany Lions next in their sight. But the major question that keeps resurfacing over the internet is, can he tap into his full-fledged momentum with an injury hiccup and end it on a superior note?

Ashton Jeanty remains a head-turner, mounting a heck of  2,497 rushing yards in a series of high-flying games for the Broncos. It placed him only 131 yards away from smashing college football’s official single-season record, owned by Oklahoma State’s Barry Sanders in 1988. He looks to inch closer to that milestone in the new year’s day. But the only thing that can get in his way is his unfit arm, which made a lot of talk a few weeks back. Jeanty stunned the crowd with a game-winning TD in the 4th quarter against UNLV. But he didn’t do it without paying a price.

He possibly took some hurt to his elbow, as he had to visit the medical tent during the game. But now, as a significant time has passed, the star Running Back thankfully has it in place. ”That’s, you now, that’s completely you know, healed up so glad that it is, so I can be closer to 100%,” Jeanty dropped a much relaxing update ahead of the impact game.

Jeanty had dealt with his unfixed elbow for longer than usual. He reportedly had a brace during the latter games, including the one against San Diego. The only good point is it didn’t force him to leave the field in between and allow him to walk past the gridiron with his stats and pride intact.

Coach Spencer Danielson rightly calls him a warrior and adores every bit of energy he brings to the field, regardless of every stumbling block on his path.

However, it’s not just his arm that ended up taking tears during the season. Jeanty injured his lower leg during the week 13 game against Wyoming. He left the field in the second half, mounting a decent 169 yards on 19 attempts and one touchdown. The game, by god’s grace, turned out to be a victory call, and Jeanty didn’t have to beat his fate for the miss. Now, with both the injuries seemingly getting settled a bit, the Broncos poster boy isn’t likely to stop. Great alarm for coach James Franklin.

James Franklin is deeply aware of the ‘Ashton Jeanty’ factor of Boise State

Penn State HC knows that he has to go the extra mile to tackle Ashton Jeanty. ”It all starts and revolves around Jeanty. In any other year, the guy wins the Heisman and you can make the argument he should have won it this year. He is hard to tackle. He’s compact … and has the ability to run away from you, make you miss. Involved in the pass game and the run game, Franklin put his stress on the monster, Ashton Jeanty. 

Watching his film closely, Franklin was left in awe of Jeanty’s prowess. The way he handles pressure, takes care of his body, and produces like a beast is second to one. ”He has more yards after contact than most of the elite backs in college football altogether,” said Franklin.

Stopping Jeanty would be on top of Franklin’s game plan, entering the Fiesta Bowl quarterfinal on December 31st. Franklin couldn’t compare Jeanty’s excellence to any of the past legends he had tackled in his 29-year career span. But he has faith in his top-tier run defense that allowed only 100.5 rushing yards per game this season.

It remains to be seen whether a separately planned attack can stop Jeanty and bag a challenging win for the Lions or not.