Kirk Herbstreit speaks on Ashton Jeanty's chances to win 'wide open' Heisman race
Kirk Herbstreit is a believer in Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty in a year in-which the Heisman Trophy is truly anyone’s race.
And he’s certainly earned the right to emerge in that race, crossing the century-mark in every game of the season so far. In his latest performance in the 28-7 win over the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors, Jeanty carried the ball 31 times for 217 yards with 1 rushing touchdown and 1 receiving touchdown.
Jeanty is now the Heisman frontrunner per the betting markets. He’s +230 to win the award at FanDuel as of publication. If Jeanty does win it, he’d be the first running back to do so since Alabama’s Derrick Henry in 2015. Herbstreit spoke about Jeanty’s candidacy on the Pat McAfee Show on Thursday.
“The Heisman this year is wide open,” Herbstreit said. “Typically it goes to the best player on an undefeated team, a high-profile team. But as you look around, we just don’t have that obvious name from one of the top 5, top 7 teams in the country. So it’s not a shock that he’s up there in the mix.”
"The Heisman, this year, is wide open. … We just don't have that obvious name from one of the top five, top seven teams in the country."
—@KirkHerbstreit on Ashton Jeanty's Heisman odds 👀 pic.twitter.com/i0bn6w4471
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) October 17, 2024
Herbstreit also noted Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel as a potential candidate.
“Dillon Gabriel really helped himself last week,” Herbstreit said. “But I think Jeanty is right there and if he keeps playing well, it’s going to get more and more attention. They’re going to win a lot of football games and probably get into the Playoff. So I think he and his team are doing everything they can to give him a legitimate shot.”
It will be interesting to watch how Jeanty continues on his roll as the Broncos face UNLV up next on the schedule at 10:30 p.m. ET.
Jeanty is playing big boy ball and the rest of us are just watching in awe. Some may say he’s not facing the top tier teams but who wants to strap on a helmet and try to bring him down? He’s for real.