Ashton Jeanty wins two national awards

Jeanty has 2,497 rushing yards and 29 touchdowns this season

Boise State Broncos running back Ashton Jeanty. / Brian Losness-Imagn Images

Boise State junior running back Ashton Jeanty picked up two more honors Thursday night. 

Jeanty was announced as the winner of the Maxwell Award and Doak Walker Award. The Maxwell Award is presented annually to the college football player of the year while the Doak Walker Award goes to the best running back in college football. 

Jeanty has 344 carries for 2,497 yards and 29 touchdowns this season, leading the country in all three statistics. He is fourth on the FBS all-time single-season rushing list, trailing only Oklahoma State’s Barry Sanders (2,628 yards, 1988 season), Wisconsin’s Melvin Gordon (2,587, 2014) and UCF’s Kevin Smith (2,567, 2007). 

The 5-foot-9, 215-pound back is 132 rushing yards away from breaking Sanders’ record. 

Boise State (12-1), the No. 3 overall seed for the College Football Playoff, will face the winner of a first-round matchup between No. 6 Penn State (11-2) and No. 11 SMU (11-2) in the Fiesta Bowl on New Year’s Eve.

Jeanty is one of four finalists for the Heisman Trophy, which will be awarded Saturday. The other finalists are Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel, Colorado two-way star Travis Hunter, Miami quarterback Cam Ward.

No running back has won the Heisman Trophy since Alabama’s Derrick Henry in 2015. Eight of the last 10 Maxwell Award winners have also received the Heisman. 

Earlier Thursday, Jeanty finished second in the AP college football player of the year voting to Hunter. Hunter got 26 votes while Jeanty received 16.

Jeanty is the first Group of 5 player to win the Doak Walker Award since BYU’s Luke Staley in 2001. 

A physical back, Jeanty has 1,882 yards after contact this season and 123 broken tackles. He has run for 200 or more yards six times.

Jeanty was also a finalist for the Walter Camp Player of Year, which went to Hunter Thursday night. 

MORE BOISE STATE NEWS & ANALYSIS

• Ashton Jeanty finishes close second in AP player of the year voting

• Boise State quarterback Malachi Nelson, former five-star prospect, enters transfer portal

• Boise State announces 2025 Mountain West opponents

• Coaching carousel: Former Boise State coaches Bryan Harsin, Justin Wilcox team up; Broncos lose assistant to UCF

• Boise State coach Spencer Danielson: Several Broncos ‘are getting illegally recruited to get in the portal’

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