Who was the last running back to win the Heisman Trophy? Boise State's Asthon Jeanty a finalist

Boise State football running back Ashton Jeanty will enter Saturday's Heisman Trophy ceremony, trying to buck a trend.

Jeanty, who leads the NCAA with 2,497 yards rushing yards and 29 touchdowns, is seeking to be the first running back since 2015 to claim the award for the best player in college football. Alabama's Derrick Henry was the last running back to win the honors in 2015.

The rushing yards were 837 yards more than North Carolina's Omarion Hampton for the most rushing yards. The 29 rushing touchdowns tied Army quarterback Bryson Daily for the most rushing touchdowns but were also six ahead of the next closest running back in Jacksonville State's Tre Stewart.

Entering Boise State's College Football Playoff quarterfinal matchup between the winner of No. 6 Penn State and No. 11 SMU, Jeanty is just 131 rushing yards away from breaking Barry Sanders' NCAA single-season rushing record, set at Oklahoma State in 1988. Jeanty has 13 100-yard rushing games, 10 games of over 150 rushing yards and six over 200 yards this season.

Here's what you need to know about Jeanty's Heisman campaign, his stats and a look back at Henry's 2015 Heisman campaign:

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Last running back to win Heisman Trophy

Henry edged out Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey and Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson for the 2015 Heisman Trophy honors. Henry earned 1,832 points in the voting, finishing a close second with 1,539 points. Henry's victory was the narrowest Heisman race since Alabama's Mark Ingram edged Stanford's Toby Gerhart in 2009.

The 6-foot-3, 247-pound back rushed 339 times for 1,986 yards and 23 touchdowns during his Heisman campaign. McCaffrey had a stellar season of his own with 3,864 all-purpose yards, breaking the previous mark set by Barry Sanders of 3,250 all-purpose yards.

Henry's top game was a 271-yard performance on Nov. 28, 2015, versus Alabama rival Auburn. During his strong season, Henry had four 200-yard rushing games and 10 100-yard games. He also had four three-touchdown performances, including in the national championship vs. Clemson. Henry broke Herschel Walker's single-season college rushing yards record during the year.

Heisman Trophy-winning running backs

Nine running backs have won the Heisman Trophy since 1984, including just three since 2005. That's a far cry from the 44 total Heisman winners at the position since the award's inception in 1935. However, the quarterback position has had even more value, with more emphasis on the forward pass in recent years.

Here's a list of the Heisman trophy-winning running backs since 1984. For the complete list, click here:

• 1985: Bo Jackson (Auburn)

• 1988: Barry Sanders (Oklahoma State)

• 1994: Rashaan Salaam (Colorado)

• 1995: Eddie George (Ohio State)

• 1998: Ricky Williams (Texas)

• 1999: Ron Dayne (Wisconsin)

• 2005: Reggie Bush (Southern California)

• 2009: Mark Ingram (Alabama)

• 2015: Derrick Henry (Alabama)

Ashton Jeanty vs. Derrick Henry stats

Here's a look at Henry's stats from his 2015 Heisman Trophy season:

• 2015: 395 rushes for 2,219 yards, 28 touchdowns; 11 receptions for 91 yards

Here's a look at Jeanty's 2024 stats with Bosie State:

• 2024: 344 rushes for 2,497 yards, 29 touchdowns; 20 receptions for 116 yards and one touchdown

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Who was the last running back to win the Heisman Trophy?