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As the first projected running back taken off the board, former Boise State football running back Ashton Jeanty gained the country's attention for positive reasons. He led the nation in rushing attempts and yards with the Broncos. Because of his efforts, they went to the Fiesta Bowl and the College Football Playoff.
Furthermore, Jeanty was the runner-up for the Heisman trophy. Although he didn't win, many people believed he was worthy of it. Either way, during his time in Boise, some strange things were happening behind the scenes. Jeanty explained more on the This Is Football show.
“It’s as simple as they get your number maybe from a high school coach,” Jeanty said. “Somebody who’s connected to you, and they call you. Which is illegal, but it’s going on.
“You know it’s going on in College Football right now, and that’s really the only way for guys to know a school wants them or they have a secure spot. I’m not going to say who called me and all that type of stuff, but you know it was a lot for sure.”
“I would say there were about 10 different teams that called, for sure.”
Ashton Jeanty was the real deal with Boise State football
The three-year star had quite the career with Boise State football. In back-to-back years, he led his conference in rushing attempts and yards. However, in his junior season, Jeanty put the world on notice. He was 27 yards short of breaking Barry Sanders' record for the most all-time rushing yards in a single season. Now, Jeanty has declared for the NFL draft.
However, Jeanty's claim comes with an interesting caveat to it. Even with NIL and the transfer portal being a regular occurrence, illegal activity is still happening. Players are being tampered with throughout the season. Especially in Jeanty's case, a Power 4 school will do anything to get a player like that on their team and the conference.
Now, college football is turning into a business. There are obviously rules regarding recruiting and visits, among other things. Still, being called in the middle of the season by an opposing school is against the rules. However, it's one of those rules that everyone breaks, but no one gets caught.
At the end of the day, this won't be the end of tampering within the season. As long as mid-major schools are at the top, everyone will be knocking on the door and making a call. Regardless, this story might have more eyes on it, especially as more NIL and transfer portal rules are introduced.
