Superstar running back chases history over zero money with transfer decision

At the start of the 2024 college football season, the projected finalists for the Heisman Trophy, an award that has largely become a quarterback honor, were determined.

The list included the usual suspects who take the ball from the middle, light up the scoreboards and opposing defenses with their arms, and collect passes with ease every Saturday.

This year, now halfway through the season, things have changed drastically, and it's all thanks to one man who proudly represents the Boise State Broncos.

“I told these (schools), 'You overlooked me three years ago.' Now you want me?'” Ashton Jeanty told USA Today: “I realized that I made the right decision from the start when I came here.”

Jeanty enters the week with 1,248 rushing yards on just 126 attempts, an average of 9.9 yards per attempt for those scoring at home, with 17 (not a typo) rushing touchdowns in the Broncos' first six games.

The junior running back fills the stat sheet with ease and could find his name in the record books at the end of this season if he surpasses legend Barry Sanders and his season record of 2,628 rushing yards.

Everything might not have happened if Jeanty had decided to accept the plethora of NIL deals offered to him and transfer to another school, but the junior remained loyal to the school that had shown their interest in him as he was still in high school, and that too paid off in spades.

Jeanty is now one of the projected Heisman finalists, and if he continues the way he has done so far in the season, he will be the man to take home the trophy in December.

Since 2000, only three running backs have won the award, Reggie Bush in 2005, Mark Ingram in 2009 and Derick Henry in 2015, and a Boise State player has never won the coveted trophy.

Jeanty has helped lead the Broncos to the top of the Mountain West Conference, and if they stay there, he will have no fewer than seven more games left to break Sanders' record.

If Boise State wins, including the conference championship, the team is all but guaranteed a spot in the College Football Playoff, giving the running back at least eight games to accomplish that feat.

While it's not an easy task, if anyone is capable of reaching this plateau, it's Ashton Jeanty.

And it all started when Jeanty decided to chase the story behind the All Mighty dollar.