“I should’ve walked away with the award,” Ashton Jeanty said in December after Travis Hunter was declared the Heisman winner. The Boise State finished as the runner-up despite it being a historic season for him. You see, he recorded 2,497 rushing yards and needed just 132 more in the College Football Playoff to surpass Barry Sanders’ record (2,628), which was set back in 1988 at Oklahoma State. The running back had Sanders rooting for him. Nevertheless, the narrow miss motivated him to “work harder, go harder,” but Jeanty also made his own Heisman history—He collected the most points by a runner-up and lost via the narrowest margin since 2009!

He also won the Maxwell Award, Doak Walker Award, and unanimous All-American honors. But is it possible that his side went above and beyond in their attempt to push Jeanty towards winning the Heisman award? Hey, that’s what analyst Joel Klatt has suggested.

On CFB ON FOX on YouTube, he stated: “I think lazily, well, he didn’t have a lot of catches last year. But, if you actually just kind of peek behind the curtain of what last year was, for Jeanty and more specifically for Boise State, they were very intently trying to win him the Heisman Trophy. The only way that he was going to have a chance to win the Heisman Trophy column, is if he not, only tested but possibly beat Barry Sanders’ yardage Mark. You know, mid-2000 2,500 yards.

“Well, you’re not going to waste touches on catches if you’re trying to get just rushing yards. So they gave it to him 28 times. But it was via handoffs, so that yardage would be rushing yardage. Now I firmly believe that. They have denied it. And I’ve talked to some of the coaches about this, but I firmly believe that they targeted 28-29 touches.”

Klatt confirmed that Boise State has denied doing any such thing, and well, winning the trophy goes beyond just good numbers. In addition to performance, winners are those who have shown exceptional diligence and perseverance. Perhaps Jeanty, too, showed these qualities, but Hunter received 552 first-place votes (2,231 total points) in comparison to the running back who received 309 first-place votes (2,017 points).

And opportunities can indeed make or break in such cases. Jeanty didn’t get many opportunities in the passing game. He was just able to catch 23 passes for 138 yards and a touchdown. This clearly didn’t do justice to his capabilities, both as a receiver and a rusher. Klatt also highlighted, “And why in the world would you give some of that receiving? Now, that doesn’t mean he can’t catch the ball. So, I have heard some people say like, ‘Well, I didn’t love his catch production as a wide receiver or excuse me, a receiver out of the backfield,’ but he can do it. And it has been there in his history at Boise State. He’s been a good receiver out of the backfield.”

In 2023, he was the leading receiver (at running back), and Jeanty also thought that he had a lot of improvement to make in his game from the standpoint of both rushing and receiving. He majorly impacted Boise State by catching 43 receptions for 569 yards and five touchdowns in 2023. But a career isn’t always about the ups. The downs are very much a part of it. Thus, focusing on the core abilities of a person becomes more crucial than just judging based on numbers.

“So, that’s not a concern for me. So you go towards his special traits, his vision, his balance and, more specifically, calling his contact through or excuse me, balanced through contact. No, no one brings him down,” Klatt admitted. “And I understand it’s the Mountain West. And I’ve been; I’m a big conference snob. I’m not afraid to admit it. But you watch this guy play, man, and no one brings him down, and he just kind of bounces through contact. It’s very beautiful. I [will] have him going to the Cowboys in the first round in my mock draft, and he might not even last that long.”

Well, we can all take a quick look at his history of electrifying moments and physical stature. Jeanty packs stunning power and speed from such a compact body of 5’9” and 215 pounds. And has a prolific production that has not been seen in decades. He has also accumulated 1,970 yards rushing after contact. This is even more than any other FBS player has in total this season. We can also consider taking a look at Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton from Penn State, who have combined to rush for 1820 yards overall in 2024. It goes without saying that Jeanty has been an exceptional player who’s nearly impossible to bring down on first contact to tackle with just one defender. He has been dedicated to Boise State for years, and with his tenure coming to an end, he has also made a heartfelt goodbye to the team. He is a top prospect transitioning to the NFL.

The latest move of Jerry Jones can change everything for the $240M star

The Dallas Cowboys have already added 10 new players to their roster: Eight in free agency and two via trade. A lot of scrutiny is going in for the first-round pick of the team, and they also need to get it right. They also got it right last time with the No.12 overall pick, nabbing Micah Parsons at that spot by trading with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2021. “We’re fortunate in that we have a lot of really good football players in North Texas that qualify for us. I think that’s an advantage when you’re in a hotbed like we are in Texas, especially North Texas, that you’ve got some great football players. The best running back in the draft is from right down the street,” Stephen Jones, the executive of the Dallas Cowboys, mentioned.

Okay, so Jones did not particularly mention Jeanty’s name. But, come on. After seeing how he’s finished his high school career at Lone Star H.S. in Frisco, located just about eight miles from Cowboy’s headquarters, it’s quite understandable. After the past season’s dominance of Jeanty, he is clearly on a different level in comparison to other running backs like Deuce Vaughn, Malik Davis, Javonte Williams, and Miles Sanders. The entire Jones family loves players with local connections, and they have clearly indicated the same.

On the other hand, there has been speculation about the Cowboys’ QB Dak Prescott slipping away to the Cleveland Browns. But NFL insider Jane Slater has called that “fake news.” His contract also has a no-trade clause. Translation? He can control where (or if) he goes anywhere. He has a four-year, $240 million contract, which makes him the highest-paid NFL player in history, as per multiple reports, signaling his credibility in play. Prescott also has the backing of Jerry Jones, and the offseason moves of the Cowboys also suggest that they are not yet done with him. He suffered a partial avulsion of the right hamstring, with the tendon pulling away from the bone. He had surgery in 2024 and, since then, has been working hard in his rehab process to bounce back.

And voila! He is back at it. Prescott is turning heads with his glow-up in the off-season. The addition of an exceptional running back, Ashton Jeanty, would boost Prescott’s strengths. This would open new opportunities for him in the passing game and help to keep the defense fresh.

These certainly prove that football is not just something that happens only on the field. Behind the headlines and stats lie the strategic plays, careers on the line, and big-money decisions. What happens next on redeeming Jeanty’s name and Jones’ gamble is yet to be seen.