How tight-knit is Boise State’s team? This lineman is getting an Ashton Jeanty tattoo

Boise State redshirt junior center Mason Randolph is no stranger to tattoos.

The 309-pound lineman has his entire right arm covered with ink down to the knuckles, as well as other spot tattoos elsewhere around his body.

He’s about to gain a new tattoo at the end of the season: Ashton Jeanty’s signature and season-ending yardage total, which very well could be a new NCAA single-season record.

Way back before Jeanty stamped himself as a Heisman Trophy favorite — he finished runner-up in the voting — the junior running back made a bet with the offensive line that if he didn’t surpass 2,000 yards this season, he’d cut his dreadlocks.

As Randolph excitedly told people about the deal, they brought up one glaring problem: “That doesn’t seem really fair.” If Jeanty had a punishment on the line for not reaching his goal, what would Randolph do if Jeanty actually reached that number?

The pair reconvened, and a day later, Randolph had the answer. If Jeanty surpassed 2,000 yards, Randolph would get a tattoo of those four numbers representing the back’s season total.

Jeanty blew past the 2,000-yard mark at Wyoming, with plenty of games to spare. He’s still chasing down Barry Sanders’ single-season rushing record of 2,628 yards, set in 1988 for Oklahoma State. NCAA rules at that time did not allow Sanders’ bowl game to count on his total.

“I don’t remember the exact rushing number ... I know I need 132 yards,” Jeanty said Thursday. He was spot on — Jeanty is at 2,497 yards, putting him 131 yards from tying Sanders’ record.

With Jeanty averaging 192.1 yards per game, there’s a good chance he breaks the record in the Fiesta Bowl against Penn State on New Year’s Eve. That game is a quarterfinal in the College Football Playoff.

Whatever that final number may be, Randolph is set to have it permanently etched into his flesh as a reminder of the historic season he’s been a part of — even if he did miss 10 games because of a left bicep injury.

And it won’t just be the number. Randolph revealed Thursday that he plans on getting Jeanty’s signature tattooed under the numerals.

Fortunately for Randolph, he won’t be paying for the ink. On Thursday, Jeanty stepped up to say he’d foot the bill — a soon-to-be-signed NFL contract next year will make the total look like pocket change — because he wanted to be a magnanimous winner.

“I think being able to be a part of something that’s this historic,” Randolph said, “just putting it on myself for the rest of my life is something I’m going to be proud of and will tell my grandkids.”