When did a Boise State player get national attention like Jeanty? Remember these guys?

It’s been a little while since a Boise State football player received the nationwide attention that junior running back Ashton Jeanty garnered these past few days.

Jeanty vaulted himself to the top of college football discussions last weekend when he rushed for 267 yards and six touchdowns in a 56-45 victory over Georgia Southern. Both stats were good enough to break program records, and the performance placed Jeanty firmly in the early Heisman Trophy conversation.

And the plaudits have been coming from all directions. Jeanty was named the Mountain West Offensive Player of the Week and was the winner of CBS Sports College Football’s Week 1 Game Ball. He was featured on ESPN’s “The Pat McAfee Show” as one of two Whaddd Players of the Week, and also was featured on the Official Heisman Trophy Podcast, released on Wednesday.

And that’s not including the countless mentions on TV nationwide, including prime-time pregame shows, such as before the Florida State-Boston College game on Monday night.

So when was the last time a Boise State player received this kind of national recognition? We asked Bronco Nation that question, and got both expected and unexpected answers.

Kellen Moore

Let’s just start with the obvious: Kellen Moore.

The most celebrated player in Boise State history, Moore became the first Heisman finalist for the Broncos in 2010, finishing fourth in the voting when Cam Newton won. He was seventh in the Heisman voting in 2009, after leading the team to a 14-0 record.

Boise State ended that season ranked No. 6 in the AP Top 25 and beat undefeated TCU in the 2010 Fiesta Bowl 17-10, with Moore leading the Broncos on a fourth-quarter, 78-yard touchdown drive.

Moore led Boise State to a 12-1 record and 26-3 win over Utah in the 2010 Las Vegas Bowl.

Moore was a first-team All-American selection by some publications, and his national recognition peaked ahead of the 2011 season, when The Sporting News voted him the No. 1 player in college football, ahead of Stanford’s Andrew Luck. Moore was the key player in Boise State football’s heyday.

Moore went undrafted in the 2012 NFL Draft and never made a huge impact in the league as a player, but he’s been the offensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys, Los Angeles Chargers and now Philadelphia Eagles.

Jared Zabransky

Zabransky spearheaded the greatest game in Boise State history: the 2007 Fiesta Bowl.

Zabranksy was named the offensive MVP as No. 9 Boise State completed an undefeated season by beating No. 7 Oklahoma 43-42 in overtime. Zabransky threw for 262 yards and three touchdowns, and completed a pass that started a play which lives in college football lore.

The Broncos scored a touchdown on fourth down in overtime, and the game was won with the famous Statue of Liberty 2-point conversion handoff from Zabransky to running back Ian Johnson.

The overtime was preceded by the even more famous hook and ladder miracle play, with Zabransky completing a pass to Drisan James on fourth-and-18. James lateraled to Jerard Rabb, who scooted down the left sideline for a touchdown that tied the game at the end of regulation.

But perhaps the peak of Zabranksy’s media craze and a sign of things to come for Boise State? He featured featuring on the cover of EA Sports’ NCAA Football 08 video game.

Ian Johnson

Talking about Johnson, he’s got a couple of reasons to be on this list.

Johnson was a Heisman Trophy dark horse heading into the 2006 season, but a collapsed lung in November sidelined him for a game and put him out of the running. He still finished the year as a third-team AP All-American after rushing for 1,713 yards and 25 touchdowns.

But he was back in the spotlight following that 2007 Fiesta Bowl — and not just for his game-winning run and 101 yards rushing. Following the victory, he proposed on national television to his girlfriend, BSU cheerleader Chrissy Popadics.

Johnson finished with 1,041 yards rushing, 312 yards receiving and 17 total touchdowns in the 2007 season.

Kyle Brotzman

Not every reason for national attention has to be a good one.

Sorry, Mr. Brotzman.

Brotzman has plenty of reasons to be remembered fondly by Bronco Nation, chiefly his fourth-down pass out of punt formation that led to Boise State’s winning touchdown in the 2010 Fiesta Bowl.

But then there are those misses on critical field goal attempts.

As mentioned in the section on Moore, Boise State finished the 2010 season 12-1, with its only loss coming in late November at No. 19 Nevada in overtime. Brotzman had a chance to win the game but missed a 26-yarder at the end of regulation, and then missed a 29-yard attempt in overtime before Nevada went on to win 34-31.

It led to the kind of attention that Brotzman and the Broncos didn’t want.

Jay Ajayi

Not every player who had time in the national spotlight hails from the Chris Petersen Gilded Age.

Running back Jay Ajayi propelled the Broncos to another Fiesta Bowl victory in 2014, the first year of Bryan Harsin’s coaching stint, finishing the game with 134 all-purpose yards — including a 56-yard TD run — and three touchdowns in a 38-30 win over Arizona.

But his performance throughout the season prompted national attention, too; he finished the year with a school-record 1,823 rushing yards and finished second nationally in touchdowns with 28, coming in behind Wisconsin’s Melvin Gordon.

The Miami Dolphins drafted Ajayi in the 5th round of the 2015 NFL Draft, and he went on to win Super Bowl LII while playing with the Philadelphia Eagles.

JL Skinner

Nationwide attention doesn’t have to be prolonged.

Safety JL Skinner enjoyed quick stardom in 2021 for a train-stopping tackle on Oklahoma State wide receiver Brennan Presley. With Presley running at full sprint, Skinner dropped his shoulder into the wide receiver’s chest on The Blue, standing firm and sending the Cowboy head over heels.