"On top of the world": Ashton Jeanty surprises Boise State HC James Montgomery with wholesome FaceTime after Raiders pick

Coming into the 2025 NFL Draft, former Boise State Broncos running back Ashton Jeanty was widely expected to be a first-round pick. In the end, Jeanty was the number six pick of the first round and will play for the Las Vegas Raiders.

One of the first things that he did after he found out that he was a Raider, Jeanty made a surprise FaceTime call with James Montgomery, the running backs coach at Boise State. In a video posted by Jeanty on Friday, he chatted with the coach, thanking him for his help, before saying:

"I'm on top of the world. It's one of the best feelings. Jaymo has helped me so much in the game of football. I'm just grateful."

In the 2023 season, Ashton Jeanty rushed for over 1,000 yards. However, this was just an appetiser for his standout 2024 season, where Jeanty recorded 2,601 yards and 29 touchdowns. This was very close to breaking the all-time single-season rushing record held by Barry Sanders.

Jeanty's performance helped Boise State, and the team won the Mountain West. With their high ranking, the Broncos booked their spot in the postseason.

While they were ultimately unsuccessful in their quest for a national championship, Boise State was able to turn Ashton Jeanty into a household name, whose impact on any NFL team would be known.

Ashton Jeanty's potential with the Las Vegas Raiders

The arrival of Ashton Jeanty to the Las Vegas Raiders will boost their ever-growing offense. Last season, the Raiders picked up Brock Bowers, a star player from the Georgia Bulldogs who had a very good rookie season and should be used a lot more in the 2025 season.

The running game that the Raiders had last year was quite weak. Their best player in this position was Alexander Mattinson, who recorded only 420 rushing yards. The lack of performance on this side of the ball only weakened the team and affected their chances in a strong conference like the AFC West, which includes the Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Chargers.

Jeanty will fix these issues as he has proven himself to be a very talented running back who is more than able to put in the hard work on the field to bring his team to victory.

About the author

Ben Tredinnick is a journalist who covers college football and college basketball at Sportskeeda who is currently studying for a masters in Data Science. His degree in Psychology has helped him gain an in-depth understanding of the minds of coaches.

Ben has been involved in sports writing since 2022 and covered the NFL previously. His strengths include providing in-depth profiles of athletes and coaches, with a particular focus on development, and looking at which teams could be in the hunt for today's college stars.

Ben enjoys following college sports more than the NBA or NFL because there is more variation in terms of playstyles. The tournaments are often more competitive than the major leagues, and due to the constant turnover of players, there are rarely any "superteams" in college sports.

He prioritizes research, looks at multiple sources and publications to make sure he gets the full picture of the story before writing. He tries not to write from a one-sided perspective to allow the reader to be able to make their mind up on their own.

A Texas Longhorns fan, as well as a massive New York Giants fan, some of his favorite college players of all time are Arch Manning, Tim Tebow and Reggie Bush.

When he is not working, Ben enjoys watching films (especially Godzilla) and spending time with his cat.

Know More

Raiders Nation! Check out the latest Las Vegas Raiders Schedule and dive into the Raiders Depth Chart for NFL Season 2024-25.

Edited by Ruth John S