It’ll be another three weeks before fans get to see the suddenly rejuvenated Warriors play at home.
But just be aware of who’s coming.
It’ll be Boise State on Oct. 12 and possibly the nation’s best running back and a potential first-round NFL Draft pick in Ashton Jeanty.
I saw Jeanty play live with my own eyes during my recent road trip to watch my two favorite non-Hawaii teams — the Ducks and the 49ers. I’m pleased to say I went 2-0 on the road, getting to see Oregon beat Boise State and Jeanty 37-34 in Eugene, Ore., and two days later seeing the then-healthy 49ers beat Aaron Rodgers and the Jets in my first trip to Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara.
But Jeanty was the player who piqued my interest before, during and after the trip.
That’s because the week prior he ran for 267 yards and six TDs on just 20 carries against Georgia Southern.
I wondered how good this guy was, then I listened to the praises, first from Oregon coach Dan Lanning before their matchup on Sept. 7.
“I think he’s the best running back I’ve seen since I’ve been here,” he said. “He’s certainly an NFL guy. He doesn’t go down on first contact ever. He’s one of the best stiff-arm guys that we’ve gone against.”
For perspective Lanning has been at Oregon just three seasons and while the then Pac-12 featured NFL-level quarterbacks more than running backs, it’s not like the conference had stiffs at running back.
Lanning and crew did get to face UCLA’s Zach Charbonnet, who rushed for 151 yards in a loss to the Ducks in 2022 and was drafted in the second round by the Seahawks in 2023.
So it’s not like Lanning was blowing smoke.
Then after Jeanty gashed the preseason over-hyped Ducks — that hurts me to write that — for 192 yards and three TDs, Lanning continued to spew compliments.
“Their back is special. That guy is a really, really great back,” he said in a postgame press conference. “You can bottle him up, bottle him up, bottle him up and then he makes a huge, explosive play.”
Jeanty did just that. Oregon rallied from a halftime deficit to take a 27-20 lead and the Ducks were driving for another score, only to fumble. The next play, Jeanty burst 70 yards untouched for a touchdown. After Dillon Gabriel fumbled on a broken play, Jeanty scored again for a 34-27 lead.
“He just doesn’t go down and that’s what makes that guy special,” Lanning said.
Through three games this season, Jeanty has 459 yards rushing on 45 carries (10.2 yards per carry), with a long run in each game of 77, 70 and 68. He rushed for 127 yards on 11 carries against Portland State Saturday, then watched the whole second half.
His talent has become hard to ignore as Jeanty has also gained national acclaim.
“He’s one of your top 12 players in this draft,” said long-time NFL Draft expert Mel Kiper in a video. “You’re not just a runner, but (if) you can catch and you can block, then I think there’s going to be that temptation if a team needs one high to take an Ashton Jeanty from Boise State.”
Jeanty, who is listed at 5 feet 9 and 215 pounds with 4.42 speed (at a high school combine), is smooth, strong and fast with excellent contact balance. He seems to run downhill with the ability to run away from them.
Although I didn’t see Jeanty run pass patterns or pick up blitzes — because that wasn’t needed on this night — he apparently is well-schooled as a receiver.
A native of Jacksonville, Fla., Jeanty played receiver in high school in Frisco, Texas, before switching to running back his senior year, during which he rushed for 1,843 yards and scored 41 touchdowns.
And Pro Football Focus wrote that Jeanty “was historically good in 2023,” where he became the first player since 2019 to achieve 1,000 yards rushing and 500 yards receiving in a single season.
PFF gushed while describing Jeanty as if it were his agent. It wrote that “In 2023, he recorded 578 receiving yards on 48 targets with zero drops. There’s a reason why the Broncos chose to emphasize Jeanty out of the backfield as much as they did on his way to a 99th-percentile yards per route run average. It’s because he delivers.”
The PFF metrics put Jeanty at the top of almost all of the running back categories.
He’s No. 1 in Forced Missed Tackle Per Attempt, second in Yards After Contact Per Attempt, first in Rushing Grade Behind Zone Blocking, second in Rushing Grade Behind Man/Gap Blocking, second in Forced Missed Tackles Per Reception, first in Yards Per Route Run and first in Wins Above Average.
I’m no analytical genius but I’m going to assume that all that data means Jeanty is pretty good.
I’m almost certain he won’t be Ron Dayne good against UH. The Wisconsin back has the record for most yards rushing against Hawaii at 339 yards in 1996.
But Jeanty does have size, speed similarities to Marshall Faulk (5-10, 212, second on the UH list at 300 yards in 1992) and LaDainian Tomlinson (5-10, 216, 294 in 2000).
For long-time UH football fans, those guys were special. Jeanty has the potential to join that club.