Just a Boise State student with a dog named Coco — who’s ‘relentless’ running the football

Running back Ashton Jeanty wants you to know he’s just like the rest of us.

He puts his shoes on one at a time, has a 7-month-old pudelpointer puppy named Coco, does his cooking and cleaning, and is a college student who attends classes every day.

He even walked into Saturday night’s postgame press conference with a Chick-fil-A bag in his hand, ready to enjoy one of America’s favorite fast-food sandwiches.

But there are plenty of ways Jeanty is like no one else. And even he acknowledged that he has “some great talents on the field.”

For instance, the Boise State junior has the most rushing yards (845) and rushing touchdowns (13) in the nation after another special performance Saturday night. Also, he can hurdle another fully-grown man while running at full speed. And he can run through five defensive players for about 10 yards before he’s finally taken down.

If he gets taken down at all after breaking tackle upon tackle upon tackle, often making defenders look foolish in the process.

That was all on display in front of a record crowd at Albertsons Stadium (37,711) that saw No. 25 Boise State (3-1) and its Heisman Trophy contender smash Washington State 45-24.

The Broncos’ defensive unit played perhaps its best game in slowing down a high-powered offense, but this game was once again The Ashton Jeanty Show. He rushed for 259 yards and four touchdowns on 26 carries, an average of 10 yards per carry.

He had touchdown runs of 64 and 59 yards in his performance, plays that showcased all the ways Jeanty is different — from his power and speed to his vision and elusiveness.

Boise State coach Spencer Danielson admitted that Jeanty is the best player he’s ever worked with.

“Relentless,” Danielson said when describing the 5-foot-9, 215-pound superstar. “Absolutely relentless.”

It wasn’t just that Jeanty recorded the fourth 200-plus-yard game of his career — tying a program record with Cedric Minter — but how he did it.

Jeanty opened the scoring less than three minutes into the game, bouncing off or breaking six tackles before rushing into the open for a 64-yard touchdown. His second touchdown involved about as many broken tackles, and ended with him dragging two Washington State defenders about 5 yards into the end zone on a 14-yard run.

Another Jeanty touchdown happened early in the fourth quarter. This time, he ran for 59 yards before diving into the end zone like Superman as a Washington State defender tried to pull him back. Jeanty put a bow on the game with a much more modest 2-yard rushing TD to give Boise State a 38-17 lead and end all doubt.

“Somebody’s got to stop him,” senior defensive end Ahmed Hassanein joked Saturday night.

It might not happen this season.

Jeanty nearly matched the single-game program record he set in the season opener at Georgia Southern, when he ran for 267 yards. That game had his name right in the thick of the Heisman conversation. This game, in front of a national audience on Fox Sports 1 against a previously unbeaten team, might have put his name on top of the list.

It didn’t take long for Albertsons Stadium to be filled with people chanting “Heis-man” and holding up signs with the #HEI2MAN slogan, which has become synonymous with the campaign the school is running for him.

“I’m doing the work and everything is going right right now. I’m in a good place,” Jeanty said, showing his flair for understatement. “But you know, most importantly, we’re winning.”

When Jeanty has the ball in his hands and charges at the defense, he said he goes in “dark mode.”

“I always got a chip on my shoulder. I always have something to prove out there,” Jeanty said. “Just to be able to have the ball in my hands, I take that very seriously. I feel like it shows on the field, dragging guys all across.”

If you missed any of Jeanty’s touchdowns Saturday night or just want to enjoy the viewing again, here they are in social media embeds after one of the Broncos’ most impressive victories in Jeanty’s tenure.

Touchdown one (7-0, 64 yards out, 12:52 1Q)

Touchdown two (17-10, 14 yards out, 3:19 2Q)

Touchdown three (31-17, 59 yards out, 13:17 4Q)

Touchdown four (38-17, 2 yards out, 9:38 4Q)