More awards for Heisman Trophy candidate Ashton Jeanty

Jeanty wins Doak Walker National Running Back of the Week; named Maxwell Award semifinalist

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

Another day, another smattering of honors for Boise State superstar Ashton Jeanty.

After being named Mountain West Offensive Player of the Week on Monday, Jeanty picked up his fourth Doak Walker National Running Back of the Week award on Tuesday. 

Jeanty, a junior running back and Heisman Trophy candidate, carried it a career-high 34 times for 209 yards and three touchdowns last Saturday in a 28-21 victory over Nevada. It was his third 200-yard, three-touchdown performance of the year, one shy of matching Wisconsin’s Ron Dayne (1996) and Jonathan Taylor (2018) for the most all-time in an FBS season. 

Jeanty has 139 total touches over the last four games, a big increase from his early-season workload. 

“We’ve talked about this many times,” Boise State offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter said Monday. “Ash averaged 22 touches per game last year; our goal this year was 25. He’s at 28 right now. But again, the object of the game is to win. So, he’s had games where he’s way under that number, and the last few, we’ve needed him. 

“We’ve also had some injuries at tailback. Our second and third tailbacks have been gone for most of the season, and God bless the guys who have stepped up to fill in. But like other positions, you gotta do what you gotta do to win the game.”

Jeanty has six 200-plus-yard rushing games in his Boise State career, the most in program history. 

The Doak Walker National Running Back of the Week wasn’t the only honor Jeanty received Tuesday morning. 

The Maxwell Football Club released its 16 semifinalists for the 88th Maxwell Award, and Jeanty cracked the list. The Maxwell Award is presented annually to the best college football player of the year.

Jeanty leads in the country in rushing yards (1,734), rushing touchdowns (23), rushing yards per game (192.7), rushing yards after contact (1,260) and missed tackles forced (90).

The winner of the 88th Maxwell Award will be announced live on ESPN on Thursday, Dec. 12. 

The 16 Maxwell Award semifinalists are:

Miami quarterback Cam Ward

Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel

Indiana quarterback Kurtis Rourke

Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart

Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders

Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia

Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik

Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe

Army quarterback Bryson Daily

Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers

Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty 

Iowa running back Kaleb Johnson

Tennessee running back Dylan Sampson

North Carolina running back Omarion Hampton

Arizona State running back Cameron Skattebo

Colorado wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter

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