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Friday Special…April 25, 2025.

(Photo credit: Boise State University Athletics)

It seems like just yesterday that we were looking at all these predictions—all the scenarios in which the Las Vegas Raiders wouldn’t draft Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty. He’d go earlier. Some team would trade up to get him. Vegas would go with an offensive lineman. Jeanty would slip to No. 10 with the Bears. Oh wait, it was yesterday. One of the last of the “final” mock drafts, from Austin Mock of The Athletic, had Jeanty dropping all the way to Denver at No. 20. That couldn’t possibly happen, could it? Well, it didn’t. There were no trades and no surprises, as Jeanty became the highest draft pick in Boise State history, going No. 6 overall to the Raiders. He was clearly exhilarated as he bounced onto the stage to greet commissioner Roger Goodell. Nick Saban predicted he’ll be the NFL Rookie of the Year.

OKAY, DISENFRANCHISED RAIDERS FANS

The Raiders are not a favorite among NFL fans in Boise. There are many reasons for that.  Some just plain dislike them, but there are lots of former Raiders fans here, helped by all the California transplants.  The move of the team to Las Vegas from Oakland five years ago did it for a large contingent of them. Some are old enough to have been turned off by the Raiders’ uprooting to Los Angeles in 1983. I’m in that camp, having grown up a Raiders fan. But anyone in Bronco Nation who has followed Jeanty the past three years and watched him evolve and amaze—and, most importantly—stay after the 2023 season, has to be looking at the Raiders in an entirely different light now. The Raiders are likeable again. I hope they win it all. And Las Vegas is an hour and 45 minutes away via an ol’ jet airliner.

THE PETE CARROLL EFFECT

There are so many reasons to like the fit for Jeanty in Las Vegas. It’s a different Raiders organization now that John Spytek is general manager, and especially now that Pete Carroll is head coach. We’ve heard a lot about how much Carroll likes the running game (look no further than Marshawn Lynch). But Carroll is also a personality match for the 21-year-old Jeanty. He’ll be a teacher, a mentor and a counselor. Carroll is really going to like Jeanty, and Ashton is going to like this version of “Coach Pete.”

JEANTY’S CAREER IN A NUTSHELL

We first started hearing about Jeanty after the first scrimmage of fall camp in 2022, when then-coach Andy Avalos rattled off his name among the day’s standouts. Then, in an otherwise downer of a season-opener at Oregon State, Jeanty was the Broncos’ leading receiver with six catches for 52 yards. Playing behind George Holani, his first 100-yard rushing game didn’t come until Game 6 against Fresno State, and his second was in the final game of the season, when he set a Boise State postseason record with 178 yards in the Frisco Bowl win over North Texas. For the season, he rushed for 821 yards and seven touchdowns.

Holani was still round in 2023, of course, but he was injured in the opener at Washington. Jeanty, meanwhile, had two dandy catches-and-runs against the Huskies, one for a 50-yard TD, and he led the Broncos in receiving yards with 109. Holani wouldn’t return until the end of October, and while he was gone, it was on. Jeanty recorded the first two 200-yard games of his career and ran for 10 TDs in Holani’s absence, then graciously shared carries with the senior the rest of the season. But the torch was clearly passed during Boise State’s surprise victory in the Mountain West championship game, when Jeanty busted out a 153-yard day at Allegiant Stadium, which will now be his new home.

THE NUMBERS THAT GO WITHOUT SAYING

Anyone who scoffed at Jeanty being a Heisman Trophy candidate last year was debunked right out of the gate when Jeanty broke Cedric Minter’s 46-year-old school record with 267 yards in the opener at Georgia Southern. Jeanty’s six TDs eclipsed another mark. From there, he was a no-brainer in the Heisman race. He put up 2,601 rushing yards, coming within 27 yards of Barry Sanders’ college football record while logging six 200-yard games. Jeanty also passed Minter on top of the Boise State career rushing list in just three seasons with 4,769 yards.  

ABOUT DAY 2 AND DAY 3

For your non-Jeanty look at the NFL Draft, let’s go to Chad Reuter’s seven-round mock draft at NFL.com, the one that had Jeanty going (ahem) No. 4 to the Patriots. Reuter had Boise State’s Ahmed Hassanein slotted in the seventh round, going to the San Francisco 49ers. Hassanein will be in Boise with his inner circle this weekend—he may be drafted or he may not be, but he’s ready for anything. And, safety Seyi Oladipo’s not expected to be drafted, but it would be cool if he was Saturday. Oladipo ended his Boise State career on such a high note last December, tracking down a UNLV running back from behind on the five-yard line after a wild 75-yard footrace down the blue turf—and recovering a fumble against Penn State in the Fiesta Bowl.

LOVELAND IS LOVIN’ IT, TOO

Jeanty was coveted by the Chicago Bears, but he wasn’t available by the time the No. 10 pick rolled around. So the Bears went out and got themselves a real-for-real Idahoan, Colston Loveland. The Gooding great and Michigan tight end was a mild surprise, as he was selected before versatile Penn State tight end Tyler Warren (who was taken at No. 14 by the Indianapolis Colts). Loveland joins at least four other first-round picks from the state of Idaho: former Boise State Broncos Shea McClellin (Marsing) and Leighton Vander Esch (Riggins), former Utah Ute Jordan Gross (Fruitland) and former Idaho Vandal Ray McDonald (Caldwell).

PERFECT WAY TO SALUTE THE JACOBY DAYS

New Boise State track and field coach Pat McCurry has changed the approach to the sport at the school, expressing an appreciation for the olden days and making it more fan-friendly. The Broncos have not hosted a home meet in six years, but that changes today with the Ed Jacoby Twilight at Dona Larsen Park.  The meet is named after the beloved Hall of Fame coach who led the Boise State program from 1973-96, and he’ll be there tonight.  

This Day In Sports…brought to you by CORSO ITALIAN STEAK…it’s about food, cocktails and vibe.  

April 25, 1965, 60 years ago today: In an NBA Finals laden with future Hall of Famers, the Boston Celtics win their eighth championship with a 129-96 rout of the Los Angeles Lakers. It was the Celtics’ ninth straight trip to the Finals under coach Red Auerbach, whose team was led by Bill Russell, Tommy Heinsohn, John Havlicek and K.C. Jones. The Lakers had Jerry West, but Elgin Baylor, the one-time College of Idaho star, suffered a knee injury in the division finals and missed the series against the Celts. Boston won the title four games-to-one.

(Tom Scott hosts the Scott Slant segment during the football season on KTVB’s Sunday Sports Extra. He also anchors four sports segments each weekday on 95.3 FM KTIK and one on News/Talk KBOI. His Scott Slant column runs every Wednesday.) 

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