Ashton Jeanty is in the midst of a historic season for Boise State, and he has worked his way into the thick of the Heisman Trophy discussion. According to Broncos wide receiver Latrell Caples, that has opened things up for the rest of the offense in more ways than one.
Jeanty is already at 1,525 rushing yards through eight games, and he’s chasing down Barry Sanders‘ single-season rushing records. Having a running back like that is already enough to make opposing defenses stack the box, but Caples says defenses are going all-out to end Jeanty’s Heisman campaign too.
“We’re playing conference teams,” Caples said. “They’re trying to let it hang a little bit and stop Ashton from winning the Heisman. All in all, we’re trying to win the game, so we’re out there winning the game by executing our fundamentals at a higher level than they are.”
Asked to clarify, Caples said he doesn’t even think opposing defenses are trying to win games because of how aggressively they’re loading the box against Boise State.
“I mean, they’re not trying to win, so I would say so,” Caples said. “You can’t win by putting nine people in the box every play.”
The Broncos are coming off a win over San Diego State in which they threw for 322 yards and four touchdowns. Caples caught six passes for 90 yards and three of those touchdowns, so he’s one of the main beneficiaries of all the attention on Jeanty.
This weekend, Boise State takes on Nevada in another MWC clash. We’ll see whether the Wolf Pack have any luck slowing down this Broncos offense, one way or another.