Ashton Jeanty hasn't seen the footage from the 1991 Foot Locker Slam Fest.
He does have an educated guess of how Barry Sanders performed in the event, however.
"I'm sure he was getting up there," Jeanty told Sporting News.
It's yet another point of comparison between Jeanty – the 5-foot-9 Boise State star who is working with USAA ahead of the 2025 NFL Draft – and Sanders, the 5-foot-8 Hall of Fame running back who rushed for 15,269 yards and 99 TDs with the Detroit Lions in a 10-year career from 1989-98.
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On April 17, a video of Jeanty throwing down a one-handed dunk on an alley-oop to himself showcased the running back's freakish athleticism. It looks a lot like Sanders, who did a double-pump reverse dunk at the Foot Locker Slam Fest – an event that had athletes from different sports than basketball participate in a dunk contest.
For Jeanty, that dunk was not a fluke. He played basketball at Lone Star High School in Frisco, Texas. He played both point guard and shooting guard, and told SN, "I had a nice little basketball career." Did he have any dunks in games?
"Yes I did in a few games," Jeanty said. "It's a game-changer."
Jeanty is a game-changer at running back who is expected to be a top-10 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, which starts Thursday in Green Bay, Wisc. Jeanty rushed for 2,601 yards with Boise State last season – which was 27 yards short of 2,628 yards that Sanders set at Oklahoma State in 1988.
Jeanty spoke with Sporting News about chasing Sanders in college, trying to follow in another idol's footsteps in the NFL and the value of growing up in a military family.
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Ashton Jeanty on comparisons to Barry Sanders
Jeanty's earliest recollection of Sanders is hearing the story of the former Detroit Lions' running back's exit from the NFL.
"The first thing I really heard was how he retired pretty early in his prime and kind of at the peak of his career," Jeanty told Sporting News. "That was when I first started hearing about him and how he was so special. Obviously, some of those games – amassing 300 yards – you don't know what to say."
Instead, Jeanty laughs. He knows the absurdity of Sanders' rushing totals at the college and pro level. Sanders had four games with at least 300 rushing yards that season. Jeanty had a season-high 267 yards and six TDs in the opener against Georgia Southern, which led to a season in which he finished second in the Heisman Trophy voting.
At the NFL level, Sanders had four 200-yard games, including a career-high 237 yards against Tampa Bay on Nov. 13, 1994.
Sanders tweeted in support of Jeanty several times during the college football season. That was not lost on the Boise State running back.
"It was a special moment," Jeanty said. "There obviously have been a lot of greats before me. One that's considered the best of all of them, it's great to have that support."
On Tuesday, Sanders talked about one of the possible destinations for Jeanty in the 2025 NFL Draft – albeit one that likely would require a trade up the board.
"A lot of people are going to want him," Sanders said via X. "A lot of teams. Who needs a running back the most? He would look good in Dallas."
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Ashton Jeanty on appreciation for Saquon Barkley
Jeanty also made headlines for an open letter to NFL general managers through The Players' Tribune. The letter opened: “Most people, they watched the Eagles win the Super Bowl a couple of months ago, they watched Saquon run through everyone in the playoffs, and they thought to themselves, This is amazing I watched it and I thought something different I thought, 'That can be me.'"
Jeanty also was watching Barkley – who rushed for 2,005 yards and 13 TDs and helped Philadelphia beat Kansas City 40-22 in Super Bowl LIX. Jeanty was training for the NFL Scouting Combine in Atlanta at the time.
"I have been watching Saquon Barkley since he was at Penn State," Jeanty said. "He is one of my favorite guys in this generation to watch play the position, I think he is an inspiration to all of us running backs to achieve a higher level of excellence at the position."
Ashton Jeanty made Washington State's defense look like a JV squad. I've never seen more forced missed tackles on a RB tape.
— Dane Brugler (@dpbrugler) September 29, 2024
Just watch these 5 clips. #RB1 pic.twitter.com/kVZGdYLBeR
Barkley finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy voting at Penn State in 2017 and was the No. 2 pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. He spent six seasons with the New York Giants before being acquired by the Eagles last season. He has 7,216 rushing yards, 2,378 receiving yards and 62 TDs in his NFL career.
Sporting News has Jeanty landing with the Las Vegas Raiders with the No. 6 pick in its last seven-round NFL Mock Draft, although Jacksonville at No. 5 and Chicago at No. 10 have been rumored landing spots. The Cowboys have the No. 12 pick.
Jeanty was not being disingenuous in his open letter to the GMs. He can be that impact player.
"I've been working up to this moment for a long time, pretty much my whole football career – athletic career since I was a young kid," Jeanty said. " I've always put my all into this game and gotten great results from that.
"I'm confident in the work that I've put in and the talent that I've been blessed with to play this game of football. I'm going to the next level with the same confidence," Jeanty said. "I also had a great group of coaches and teammates at Boise State."
How Ashton Jeanty's military background shaped career
Jeanty and Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe visited the General Mitchell Air National Guard Base in Milwaukee ahead of the 2025 NFL Draft as part of their partnership with USAA. Jeanty and Milroe met with service members and took part in simulated flight experiences. For Jeanty, whose father Harry served in the United States Navy, it was a reminder of his childhood and his path to the NFL.
"Outside looking in, a lot of people don't understand being the kid of someone doing that job every day, you understand what they go through, especially as you get older you learn about this life," Jeanty said.
Jeanty's football career began at a US Navy base in Naples, Italy. The team played against other teams from bases – and there was a rivalry with the base at Aviano, which Jeanty is quick to point out is the base where Kobe Bryant went to school when the Lakers legend was growing up overseas. How were those football games?
"It was competitive," Jeanty said. "It's not what it is out here in the US. Coming from there to Texas High School football was a little bit different levels, but as far as out there it was really competitive. Everybody did go hard and took it seriously.”
Now, Jeanty is ready to enjoy the NFL Draft experience. He is not worried about where he ends up.
"I've done all the work and you put my best foot forward, now just be relaxed, go with the flow and try not to stress over it and try to puzzle-piece where I'm going to go," Jeanty said. "You gotta wait and see and be patient. I'm hoping the right organization will pick me and everything will fall into place."