How Penn State’s defense is preparing to stop ‘one of the best players in college football’

Tom Allen paused for a moment when asked if there was one play that stood out from his time watching film of Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty.

“Well,” the Penn State defensive coordinator said Sunday as his smiled, “unfortunately there were several plays.”

That is the type of reaction and respect Jeanty has drawn from Penn State in its lead up to the Fiesta Bowl matchup with the Broncos. There is no disparaging of what the Boise State running back has accomplished or how he’s played this season. Instead, there was nothing but adulation for Jeanty.

And for good reason.

Penn State’s defense will face its toughest task yet this season when it takes on the best offensive player in college football.

Jeanty has accomplished plenty heading into Tuesday’s game. He finished second in the Heisman Trophy race, is on the verge of breaking Barry Sanders’ single-season college rushing record and has carried Boise State to a Mountain West title and a first-round bye in the College Football Playoff.

Allen had seen what the running back has done, and even enjoyed watching him play — to a point.

“I did until we knew we were gonna play him,” Allen said while laughing. “I kept seeing him on highlights. ... Now you know you’re playing him, it’s not quite as enjoyable because it becomes, ‘How are we gonna stop this guy?’ But you do have to respect and enjoy the type of player that he is.”

The Nittany Lion defenders saw it right away too and, regardless of who you talk to, they all point to one of Jeanty’s best attributes — his contact balance. Few players have been as good as he is at taking hits and keeping his feet under him. And that’s not just from one opponent either.

He’ll bounce off defensive players like a pinball until he eventually catapults into the open field and breaks away. Boise State claims he’s caused 143 missed tackles for 1,889 yards after contact just this season.

And linebacker Dom DeLuca said those are the plays that make him most dangerous.

“The way he makes something out of nothing,” DeLuca said during Sunday’s pre-Fiesta Bowl media day. “He gets hit in the backfield and makes a 25-yard gain. He’s a great back.”

There is some acknowledgment, too, that those plays may happen against the Nittany Lions regardless of what they do. Yes, Penn State is a proud defense — and it has earned the right to be one — but there are some players that come around that are impossible to defend.

Penn State defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton is one of the best in the country at his position, the type of player that could leave early for the NFL draft and nobody would bat an eyelash. And while teams can be quick to jump to saying “nobody believes in us” when an opponent is praised, that’s not the route Dennis-Sutton took when asked if he and his teammates use that as motivation.

“I mean, it’s true though,” Dennis-Sutton said with a laugh. “He’s one of the best players in college football. He’s gonna do what he do. He’s gonna get the ball 30 times so he’s gonna gain some yards. And it’s college football, so whoever we play, they’re gonna make plays.”

It won’t just be the defensive linemen and linebackers who have to stop the running back in this one, either. It will be an all-hands-on-deck situation, with the secondary being asked to contribute in the running game and make plays if Jeanty gets to them.

Cornerback A.J. Harris has been the Nittany Lions’ best corner this season after transferring in from Georgia, and has been excellent at shutting down whoever lines up across from him this year.

But Tuesday it won’t just be about the man in front of him.

“We just have to be disciplined in our eye discipline and what we’re looking at,” Harris said. “When you have a running back like Ashton Jeanty, it creates the opportunity for play-action pass. Just making sure our eyes are in the right spot. ... We take it as a big challenge. Definitely give them their respect because you don’t become the Heisman runner-up by accident. So just giving him his flowers and understanding that he’s a great player, but understanding that we’re going to come ready to play him as well.”

It will take that level of attention and discipline from all 11 Nittany Lions on the field every time Jeanty touches the ball. But there is a delicate balance to that, too. Pay too much attention to him, and the Boise State offense can win over the top by taking deep shots down the field, as Harris mentioned. Don’t do it enough and you’re getting gashed by the best offensive player in the country.

This is not an offense that can be taken lightly, despite Boise State’s insistence that it’s being counted out. Broncos players donned shirts saying “please count us out” when they arrived Saturday after head coach Spencer Danielson said the phrase last week. But Penn State is not the one doing it.

“I can guarantee you they have our respect,” head coach James Franklin said. “We take a lot of pride in that as a program. We respect everybody that we play, but it’s not hard to create that when you watch them on tape. Boise is a really, really good football team led by arguably the best player in college football, and definitely the best running back in college football, or one of the best running backs in college football. They have our respect; there’s no doubt about that.”

And that will benefit Penn State. Because if, even for a few plays, it gets caught not paying attention to Jeanty, it will find itself staring at the back of his jersey as he crosses the goal line — and eventually on a plane ride back to Pennsylvania with no trip to follow.