Boise State Broncos College Football Pregame Quote, 12/29/2024

Q. What’s it been like to block for a guy like Ashton Jeanty in a historic year?

BEN DOOLEY: Awesome. Man, he’s a special guy. Talented, humble, grateful, just everything you would want from a player like that. Knowing that he’s behind me gives me confidence that if I can just do my job a little longer, that glue will make a huge play, like he’s continued to do all season.

Q. There’s obviously a pretty significant record lingering out there. Have you discussed about it, joked about it?

BEN DOOLEY: I might want it more than he [Ashton Jeanty] wants it for himself. I want him to get that record so bad. I just feel he deserves that; he deserves that respect. A lot of people are counting him out as well. I know he’s hungry. I know he’s fired up.

Q. Now that you’re here, it resets all the story lines, but Maddux has a competition in the fall, right? When is that? He didn’t have the name recognition nationally. What have you seen from him over the course of the season, kind of going through that and kind of helping you get here?

BEN DOOLEY: Maddux is a younger guy, and the quarterback position inherently comes with that position. You’re leading the offense. I’ve seen huge steps in growth for him. That leadership position, leading this team, taking us up on the sideline and laying it out like it is.

His vision is always what’s really impressed me about him, is being able to find both dudes out on the field. Sometimes I can’t even belief he can see over me, but he’ll make that window and make that throw. I have a lot of trust and confidence in him.

Q. You gave Oregon basically all it could handle on the road. Having played the No. 1 team in the country, and showing you can be on their level, how much did that game give you confidence? You guys were confident throughout the year, but getting to this stage knowing: Hey, we have played a team on this level already.

BEN DOOLEY: That’s given us that chip on our shoulder, for sure. Knowing we can compete with those kinds of guys and knowing we kind of left something on that field, we gave that game away. That gives us even more of a reason to come up here and show, hey, we can win those kinds of games.

Q. I don’t know if you’ll be matched up at all with Abdul Carter, watching him on field. How much attention have you given to him as a unit?

BEN DOOLEY: He’s a great player, and we respect everyone. We gave him his due time. He’s a phenomenal player. We have a plan for him. I’m excited to go play against him.