Raiders' Ashton Jeanty: OC Chip Kelly wants me to get rid of 'Halloween' stance
The Las Vegas Raiders see a star in rookie running back Ashton Jeanty, but offensive coordinator Chip Kelly wants to see the Boise State standout shine with some changes to his game, which he depicted to the running back by having him act as an on-ball defender in basketball.
"Sometimes you have to, you know, go with the flow. Chip Kelly, he comes up to me on the first day of minicamp, and he's like ‘You ever play basketball?’ I'm like, 'Yeah, I play basketball. You know, I can dunk and all that.' He's like, 'OK, show me how you would guard me,' and he's acting like he's holding the ball. … 'that's exactly why you have to be down in your running back stance," Jeanty told Up & Adams about what Kelly told him.
In the past, Jeanty had stood up straight when lined up in the backfield before the ball was snapped. Jeanty deemed it the "Halloween" stance because people repeatedly said that he looks like the character "Michael Myers" – who murders multiple people in the slasher horror series – in the backfield. For what it's worth, Detroit Lions running back and two-time Pro Bowler Jahmyr Gibbs has a similar stance where he's primarily standing straight up when lined up in the backfield.
Jeanty added that Kelly had "won, for now" and that he was "going to try and persuade him one day" but also that he has "to earn" his "stripes" in the NFL first — all with a smile on his face.
"I don't think it's going to be the end [of the stance]," Jeanty said.
Jeanty, a two-time Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year and a one-time All-American, had an otherworldly junior season at Boise State, which went 12-2 and reached the College Football Playoff quarterfinal round. Rushing for a college football-best 2,601 yards and 29 touchdowns —