Feel the breeze: This Boise State running back plans to keep living up to his nickname

Boise State running back Jambres Dubar earned his nickname when he was in the second grade.

His older brother, Abner, invited him to play in a pickup game, and the first play was a handoff to Jambres. He found a lane and blew past the defense for a long touchdown, without a single player getting a hand on him.

“They were like, ‘Oh my God, it’s breezy,’” Dubar told the Statesman.

And so Dubar became “Breezy,” a nickname that has served him well ever since. His speed made him all but unstoppable at Anna High School in Texas. He racked up 2,812 yards and 32 touchdowns and posted more than 100 rushing yards in 16 games during his final two seasons.

“He was exceptionally fast, could break tackles and could change a game with his explosiveness,” Anna coach Seth Parr said. “He could take a handoff to the house from anywhere on the field.”

Parr said the Breezy moniker fits Dubar’s demeanor off the field as well.

“He was always smiling and happy, and his teammates liked him,” Parr said. “He was happy to run around all day, and he’d have fun doing it.”

Dubar’s speed served him well in his first season with the Broncos. He played in 12 games as a freshman and finished with 335 yards on 62 carries, an average of 5.4 yards a carry. He burst through the defense for a season-long run of 24 yards in his collegiate debut against UCF.

The extra gear to blow past defenders is what Dubar said sets him apart from other running backs, including Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty, who was named Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year last season after rushing for 1,345 rushing yards and scoring 19 total touchdowns. He has a chance to make a run at the Heisman Trophy this year.

“Ashton has everything you need: speed, power, agility, elusiveness,” said Dubar, who joined the Broncos as a three-star recruit in 2022. “I think I’m more of a speedy, one-cut, downhill runner. If I get to the open field, you ain’t catching me.”

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Dubar said he’s more comfortable with the playbook in his second year with the Broncos, and he feels like he’s been playing faster in fall camp practices. He’s poised to build on last year’s numbers, running backs coach James Montgomery said.

“With the young guys, reps are like gold,” Montgomery said. “They’re learning something each and every time they go out there and play. It’s exciting just seeing his progression from the spring and how much he developed this offseason.”

Breezy’s brother and ‘mentor’

Dubar said Abner had a monumental impact on his career. They competed in everything growing up, and he said he always looked up to his older brother.

“He’s my mentor,” Dubar said. “Whenever I fell down, he picked me up.”

Abner started at running back and safety during Dubar’s freshman year at Anna High. Abner’s college football path has been circuitous, which Dubar said gave him a chance to return the favor and be a rock for his older brother.

Abner passed on scholarship offers from Baylor, Colorado, Houston, Texas Tech, Washington State and Kansas, among other programs, and signed with Minnesota as a safety in 2019. After two seasons with the Gophers, he transferred to Abilene Christian, where he played in 10 games and posted 36 tackles and an interception in 2022.

He stepped away from football last year, but enrolled at Cisco Junior College in Texas in June. Abner hopes to get one more shot with a Division I program, his younger brother said.

“He looks up to me, too,” Dubar said. “He quit (football) for a little bit, but now he’s back, and I can’t wait to see what he does.”

NOTE

▪ Jeanty was one of 50 players named to the Walter Camp Award watch list on Monday. The award goes to the most outstanding player in the country. Jeanty is also on the watch list for the Maxwell Award, which goes to the best offensive player in the country. He was named preseason Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year in July.