College Football Player Rankings: A List Of The Best Boise State Running Backs Ever

For a Group of Five team, Boise State has produced some incredible running backs over the years.

Several backs who once suited up for the Broncos spent some time in the NFL. And arguably the best running back the program has ever seen has yet to even begin his pro career.

Here’s a ranking of the best running backs from Boise State. When making this list, I weighed both what these players did in college and what they did at the next level.

So players like Brock Forsey, who’s third all-time at Boise State with 4,113 rushing yards and first with 68 touchdowns scored, and Ian Johnson, who’s second in Boise State’s record books with 4,183 rushing yards and first with 58 rushing touchdowns, didn’t quite make it despite their countless accomplishments.

5. Alexander Mattison

Mattison made a substantial impact at Boise State after playing there for just three seasons.

He’s 12th at Boise State in terms of career rushing yards (2,829) and ninth in rushing touchdowns (33) while being 10th in attempts (581).

But it’s also tough to ignore his NFL career. He’s one of three Boise State running backs to be picked in the first three rounds of the NFL Draft. As of this writing, he’s started 24 games and played in 86 games for the Minnesota Vikings and Las Vegas Raiders. He’s rushed for 2,711 yards and 14 touchdowns while adding 966 yards and seven scores on 127 receptions.

4. Doug Martin

Doug Martin isn’t in the top five for many of the big career stats for running backs at Boise State, but no one can deny what he accomplished in the NFL. He was one of five Boise State players to ever be drafted in the first round and the only running back from the program to be selected that highly.

Martin is eighth all-time at Boise State with 3,431 rushing yards and is in the top 10 with 5.561 yards per carry. He’s also sixth with 43 rushing touchdowns and was in the top 10 with 48 total touchdowns scored until this season.

The 2011 MAACO Las Vegas Bowl Most Valuable Player also scored the game-winning touchdown for the Broncos when they won the Fiesta Bowl over TCU in 2010.

But he also had an incredibly successful pro career. Martin ran for 5,356 yards and 30 touchdowns while catching 148 passes for 1,207 yards and two touchdowns over seven seasons playing for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Oakland Raiders. He ran for 1,400 yards in two different seasons, once as a rookie in 2012 and another time in 2015. He made the Pro Bowl during both of those seasons and was an All-Pro in 2015.

3. Cedric Minter

Cedric Minter only played a couple seasons in the NFL, but he was Boise State’s all-time leading rusher – until this year.

Minter ran for 4,550 yards from 1977-80, meaning his record stood for more than four decades despite all of the great backs who have taken handoffs for the Broncos. He’s also eighth with 37 rushing touchdowns and top five with 101.1 yards per game and 5.95 yards per carry.

He also owned Boise State’s single-game rushing record when he ran for 261 yards against Northern Michigan in 1978. But the No. 1 running back on this list now owns that record as well.

2. Jay Ajayi

Ajayi accomplished a great deal in college and in the pros.

Ajayi is fifth all-time at Boise State with 3,796 yards and is tied for second with 50 rushing touchdowns. Going into the season, he ranked first with 115.4 yards per game. He also had the single-season records for rushing yards (1,823) and touchdowns (28) – again, until this season.

Ajayi had some success in the NFL, too. He ran for 2,546 yards and 13 touchdowns while catching 63 passes for 419 yards and a TD in five seasons with the Miami Dolphins and Philadelphia Eagles. He was a Pro Bowler in 2016 when he ran for 1,272 yards and eight scores.

Ajayi would’ve been ranked at No. 1 before the 2024 season.

1. Ashton Jeanty

Jeanty hasn’t even finished his collegiate career yet and he deserves the top spot on this list.

In 2024, Jeanty is having one of the best seasons college football has ever seen for a running back. He’s rushed for 2,497 yards and 29 touchdowns this year, which are both single-season program records, and he’s not done yet.

He needs 132 yards in the Fiesta Bowl to break Barry Sanders’ NCAA single-season rushing record.

With 4,665 yards on the ground, he ranks first in Boise State’s career record books. He’s tied for second in program history with 50 touchdowns on the ground and would be first with a 6.5 yards-per-carry average over his career. In Week 1 against Georgia Southern this season, Jeanty ran for 267 yards and six touchdowns, which are also both single-game records.

Jeanty won the Maxwell Award this season, which goes to the best player overall in college football. He’s the only Heisman finalist who played running back at Boise State and is the highest finisher in the voting for the award at any position from the program, as he was a close runner-up to Travis Hunter of Colorado.

Jeanty might also be selected early in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft. If he is, and he does have a successful pro career, there would be absolutely no argument against him deserving the top spot on this list.

Best Boise State Running Backs, Ranked