2497 yards, 4th in all of FBS history. Ashton Jeanty is almost there. Just 131 yards away from breaking Barry Sanders‘ massive 2628 record. It’s kind of wild when you think how much Jeanty has done for the Broncos. 3rd seed in the playoffs with a bye and waiting to face off against the winner of the SMU vs Penn State game. Did you know that all of this wouldn’t have been possible because of all the childhood troubles Ashton Jeanty had to go through? By the time this RB was in middle school, he had already moved homes from Georgia all the way to Virginia. Florida was also a stop in between. A football dream that began in Naples, HC, has now made this guy a Heisman finalist.

And it just warms our hearts to see how happy his family is about it. Back on Instagram, Players Tribune shared what Jeanty’s auntie Godmom Lin had to say about her nephew’s progress. “On Saturday morning, look in the mirror and tell 10-year-old Ashton, ‘You did it. You’re a Heisman finalist,” Lin had mentioned in the video. You know, when CBS Sports pointed out Jeanty’s mid-season stats compared to the previous RB Heisman winners, it made us wonder what this guy built off. Over double the stats than what Derrick Henry or Mark Ingram pulled mid-season.

His journey would’ve never had this much success if it hadn’t been for his days in Naples. Playing under HC Jim Davis for Naples HC, Jeanty had already shown signs of greatness. “Wow, this kid’s got a lot of power,” Davis had pointed out when explaining what he felt when he first saw Jeanty playing.

From Naples, the RB shifted to playing for Lone Star HS back in Texas, but that didn’t work out well. Jeanty had one single aim: to be recognized. While he did manage to snag 1800 yards with over 40 touchdowns at Lone Star, it just wasn’t enough.

But when Boise State came knocking? Jeanty knew this was IT. “It was never given to me… It was all earned,” Ashton Jeanty had mentioned. And the rest is history. Literally the best running back in college football right now, with multiple records. If Travis Hunter is out there making records, then Jeanty is here breaking them, and that is exactly what makes their Heisman rivalry so much fun.

Looking back on Ashton Jeanty vs Travis Hunter fight

It was pretty much Hunter who took the first shot at Jeanty back on Outta Pocket, but then again, the RB had the perfect response. “What I’ve been doing hasn’t been done in 36-37 years,” Jeanty had said.

You have to agree that this year in college football was fantastic, and most of the credit goes to Jeanty and Hunter. While the RB is out there taking the Broncos to the playoffs, Hunter is setting new standards as a 2 way star.

We literally cannot take away credibility from any of them because both have done fantastic in the gridiron. Hunter is like the reincarnation of Champ Bailey from The Golden Years (1998) and Jeanty? Well, Barry Sanders is the perfect example.