SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. – Ashton Jeanty was the star of stars during Media Day festivities at the Fiesta Bowl on Sunday.
Totally expected, like sunshine and golf courses in Arizona.
Kind of a dumb thing to write – but Boise State’s star running back shined brighter than usual inside the JW Marriott Camelback Inn, swarmed by media from Pennsylvania to Arizona to Idaho and elsewhere for about an hour.
Jeanty answered serious CFP questions from ESPN, we found out he wants actors Denzel Washington or Michael B. Jordan to play him in a movie one day, Marcus Allen is the most famous contact name in his cellphone, and at one point he interrupted questions to match an impressive amount of pushups with Spirit, the Fiesta Bowl’s muscular mascot.
In many respects, Jeanty has been the star of this entire college football season.
In many respects, Jeanty was just his usual self Sunday.
“Honestly, the spotlight has always been on me,’’ he said at one point.
Mike Prater
Over and over, No. 2 was asked two primary questions …
One, are you and Boise State repping non-power, Group of Five football with Tuesday night’s opportunity against Penn State? For the sake of brevity, I’ll answer this one: Yes, every Boise State player and coach this month has played the little guy, don’t-count-us-out, Lou Holtzitis, we’re-the-victim card. We’ll see if it works.
Primary question No. 2, which takes us back to Jeanty being Jeanty, the same Jeanty he’s been all year. He gave what may have been my favorite answer …
How are you staying focused on the ultimate team goal when everyone is talking about you? “I didn’t ask for it to be this way. I didn’t force it in any type of way like others may do. When you’re doing things right, in a certain way, there’s a spotlight on you, right? There’s attention on you, but my goal this whole year has been to take the attention off me and put it back on my teammates. Obviously, I’m doing some very special things that is not done too often, but I couldn’t do any of this without my teammates.’’
More from the interesting questions and answers with Jeanty on Sunday …
– Your last month – how surreal has it been? “Yeah, it’s been crazy, for sure. … I’ve handled it the best I can, that’s what I try to do. Obviously I’ve never been in this place in my life before, but there will be a lot more of this to come. So just try to handle it diligently, take it one day at a time, keep being myself and showing the world who I am.’’
– What have you learned over the past month? “Everything you say is heard. Everything you say matters. If you really, really want to get a message across, don’t be afraid to say it, but also say it the right way so people understand.’’
– Did you ever have to reboot, refocus, especially after Heisman Trophy weekend? “It’s just human nature when a lot is coming at you. I won’t say slip, but maybe there’s a time when you’re not as locked in and focused as you want to be, so you kind of have to reset, refocus.’’
– Did you watch Colorado and Heisman winner Travis Hunter in the San Antonio Bowl on Saturday night? “No, I didn’t watch, but I’ve obviously seen the score. People are talking about it, telling me the score. I don’t really have no thoughts, I don’t really care too much about what they’ve got going on over there. I’m just worried about winning Tuesday.’’
– Do you notice specific changes in defenses after your first 20-25 carries of the game? “One-hundred percent. After the first probably five, 10 carries, you notice how the defense is playing. You notice who wants to tackle, who really doesn’t want to tackle.’’
– Would you be a good linebacker? “I full-heartedly believe I’d be a great linebacker. You wouldn’t run the ball on me ever.’’
– What has offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter meant to your season – and your NFL future? “His background in the NFL has been huge because he runs a NFL pro-style offense and the way he coaches us is just like a coach in the NFL. … He expects the best out of each and every single one of us every single day and if you’re not at your best, you’re going to hear it from him.’’
– Your thoughts on 24 days off between games? “Honestly, after the first week, I was over it. Obviously, the body is feeling good, but for me, one week did it. Having this much time before playing a game is hard.’’
– When was the last time you got nervous before a game, and will the Fiesta Bowl, with a massive stage/national semifinal opportunity in the Orange Bowl, create more butterflies? “I get butterflies before every game and that’s just because I care about the outcome of a game. There’s never been a game where I wasn’t nervous before.’’
Eventually, after his hour of taking questions, and answering most of them with a smile, I had one final thought for Jeanty, a scary one considering his time at Boise State is about to reach its end.
Jeanty confirmed Sunday that he and his family have hired an NFL agent – he wouldn’t disclose the name. As soon as Boise State’s season ends, the most loyal Bronco in the history of the program will move on to build a new football family in the NFL.
He’s thought about that, he did admit Sunday.
He knows Tuesday could be his final game in a Boise State uniform.
He didn’t want to talk about it.
“Yeah, for sure, but I’m not really thinking about it like that,’’ he said. “Naturally, the human mind is going to let you go to that place, but me personally, winning is the only option.’’
Jeanty stopped smiling. He flashed those deadly serious, deep game-day eyes that have helped to produce 2,497 rushing yards, 30 touchdowns, a second-place Heisman finish, 12 victories in 13 games.
No doubt, Jeanty is dialed in for Tuesday night – ready to be a bright, shining star.
One. More. Time.
Mike Prater is the Bronco Nation News columnist who co-hosts Idaho Sports Talk (KTIK 95.3 FM on Monday-Friday from 3-6 p.m.) and the Boise State football postgame show (KBOI 670 AM). He is on Twitter @MikeFPrater and can be reached at mikefprater@gmail.com
