He impressed as a freshman. Now this Boise State RB stole the show in the spring game

Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty picked up where he left off last season Saturday in the Broncos’ annual spring game.

Jeanty, who posted 821 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground last year as a freshman, found the end zone three times and finished with 167 all-purpose yards on just five touches. He carried the ball twice for 82 yards and caught three passes for 85.

He used a nasty stiff-arm to break away from a tackler on a 62-yard touchdown run in the first quarter and left a defender grasping at air with an ankle-breaking cut on a 20-yard score later in the half.

Jeanty has always been a physical runner, but Boise State head coach Andy Avalos said he’s been dedicated in the weight room this offseason and he’s going to be even more difficult to tackle this year.

“It’ll wear a defense out,” Avalos said of Jeanty’s running style. “We’re excited about the guys we have in the backfield, and they’ve done a great job improving.”

Jeanty didn’t just have the Broncos’ most explosive running play on Saturday. He also got it done through the air.

In the second half, he caught a short pass from quarterback Taylen Green, tip-toed down the sideline and outran the defense on a 75-yard touchdown.

Jeanty was the only Bronco who looked explosive as Boise State debuted new offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan’s scheme on Saturday, even though the play selection was understandably vanilla for a spring game.

Boise State’s offense posted 11 plays of 15 yards or more and beat the defense 56-25 in a game that featured an unconventional scoring system, which awarded points for explosive plays, turnovers and sacks as well as touchdowns and extra points.

“I love the way we have the ability to get the ball in certain people’s hands and let the guys go execute,” Avalos said after the Broncos’ quarterbacks spread passes around to nine different players.

Green got off to a slow start, but he found his rhythm in the second half and finished 9-for-20 for 176 yards and a touchdown. He went 8-2 as the starter last season and was named Mountain West Freshman of the Year after posting 2,042 yards and 14 touchdowns through the air and 586 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground.

Redshirt senior wide receiver Shea Whiting led the Broncos with five catches for 36 yards, and Stefan Cobbs chipped in with four grabs for 46 yards.

Wisconsin transfer Titus Toler led the defense with five tackles and a sack. Redshirt freshman linebacker Jake Ripp was also credited with a sack, while redshirt junior cornerback Jaylen Clark led the secondary with three pass breakups.

The Broncos have one more spring practice, on Tuesday. Then the players will have May off before returning to campus in early June for voluntary workouts.

Here are more takeaways from Saturday’s spring game.

▪ Redshirt freshman Maddux Madsen looked like the best quarterback on the roster at times. He found freshman wide receiver Prince Strachan on a 41-yard pass in the first quarter and connected with Latrell Caples on a 20-yard touchdown later in the half.

He finished the game 8-for-10 for 97 yards and showed off his mobility on a couple of nice runs, but Avalos said his greatest strength is his intangibles.

“He is always so even-keeled, he knows how to lead and he’s always got such a great vibe,” Avalos said. “His capacity in terms of his football knowledge for a younger guy is really good, and I’m really excited about what he’s doing as well as the rest of the quarterbacks.”

Madsen has been competing with freshman CJ Tiller this spring as the Broncos search for Green’s backup, and the native of American Fork, Utah, looked like he was leading the competition on Saturday.

Tiller finished the spring game 5-for-7 for 46 yards.

▪ Strachan continued his impressive spring. The 6-foot-5 native of the Bahamas caught two passes for 56 yards and hauled in a long touchdown pass from Green during 7-on-7 drills on Saturday. He looks like he’s going to be a nice complement to fellow deep threat Eric McAlister this year.

▪ Former Eagle High standout Ethan Mikita scored the first touchdown of his Boise State career on a 1-yard dive in the third quarter. Mikita’s senior year at Eagle was cut short by an injury, and he joined the Broncos last year as a walk-on.

▪ Former wide receiver Kaden Dudley scored a 2-yard rushing touchdown a couple of plays after Green connected with Caples on a 38-yard pass that put the Broncos in scoring position. Dudley moved to running back last season and emerged as one of the team’s top kick returners.

▪ Redshirt sophomore Rick Moore got the start at left tackle with the No. 1 offense, and redshirt sophomore Joseph Amos started at right. Washington State transfer Cade Beresford didn’t play. He started at right tackle after joining the Broncos last year and is one of the favorites to start on the left side this season.