The Choice for Heisman is Clear
We are almost at the end of the regular season of college football, which means we will soon find out who will be taking home the coveted awards that signify the best at each position. Of course, the Heisman gets the most discussion as odds for the top choice flip more than a chocolate chip pancake on a hot griddle. So much attention has been on two way star Travis Hunter, who is playing both receiver and corner for Colorado. The QB with the highest chance right now is Cam Ward at Miami, who has broken school records. Both of them are great players and will probably be taken in the first round this coming April. But they are not doing what Ashton Jeanty has, and he’s not done yet.
Math Lesson
I tortured many a teacher with my downright terrible comprehension of math and everything that goes with it. I’m also the kind of person that says let’s just play the games and not worry about stats. If we get to a milestone we can talk then. Well, here we are. Let’s take a look at the last running backs who won the award and how they stack up to Mr. Jeanty.
Ron Dayne, Wisconsin 1999 - 1,618 yards, 5.9 per carry, 18 rushing TDs.
Reggie Bush, USC 2005 - 1,104 yards, 7.9 per carry, 11 rushing TDs.
Mark Ingram, Alabama 2009 - 1,297 yards, 6.7 per carry, 10 rushing TDs.
Derrick Henry, Alabama 2015 - 1,458 yards, 6.1 per carry, 19 rushing TDs.
Ashton Jeanty so far - 2,228 yards, 7.3 per carry, 28 rushing TDs.
The record that is still in play is Barry Sanders season record in 1988 with 2,628 yards and 37 touchdowns.
This is pretty jarring isn’t it? The touchdown record I think is still safe and secure with Barry, but with at least two more games to go with Jeanty running with a Boise State uniform on, the yardage record is poised to fall. Keep in mind he had already 1,000 plus yards through six games where he didn’t even play the whole game in some of them. Sanders could’ve had more but in his day bowl game stats didn’t count. Now they do. Jeanty’s chase is that much easier as a result. For what it’s worth, he also has one receiving touchdown and 102 receiving yards.
The Award Itself
If the point of the Heisman is to award the best player in college football, this is most certainly the guy. Not only is he the undisputed best back in the country putting up video game numbers, nobody has been able to stop him yet. He had six touchdowns in the season opener, 4 against Washington State (the picture), and three in multiple games. He also has 200 plus yards in five games. Jeanty also has 312 total carries and 330 total touches counting catches. This is the most used back college football has seen in a very long time. Giving the award to anybody else would be a huge disservice.
Arguments against him will say running backs aren’t important anymore and that winning that way isn’t sustainable anymore. To be frank, that doesn’t really matter here. Let’s stop dinking around and call Ashton Jeanty what he is. The best player in the country, and if the record falls, the best college running back of all time.