When Ashton Jeanty makes his NFL debut with the Las Vegas Raiders this season, he could also be debuting a new stance before the snap on the field.
Since high school, Jeanty has stood with his hands at his sides on the field before the start of the play, a posture that some have compared to Michael Myers, the infamous killer from the horror films “Halloween”.
Certainly, this has not prevented him from succeeding in the field: he comes from a season in which he was runner-up for the Heisman Trophy for Boise State, where he ran for 2,601 yards, the second-most in a season in FBS history, only behind Barry Sanders, who ran for 2,628 yards for Oklahoma State in 1988.
However, Chip Kelly, the Raiders’ offensive coordinator, wants him to take a different stance in the NFL. The process began on the first day of the Raiders’ recent minicamp.
“You know, sometimes you have to, you know, go with the flow,” Jeanty said.
Interview with “Up & Adams Show”
Jeanty recounted that Kelly asked him: “Have you ever played basketball?” And I replied: “Yes, I play basketball, you know, I can dunk and all that.” He said: “OK, show me how you would defend me,” and acted as if he were holding the ball.”
Then he proceeded to demonstrate the stance with Adams and said that Kelly told him: “That’s exactly why you have to be in your running back stance.”
Jeanty said Kelly “won for now,” but is not totally relinquishing her signature stance.“I’m going to try to persuade him someday. I have to earn my stripes and make some plays first, but I don’t think it’s the end [of the stance],” he said.
Ashton Jeanty
Jeanty said he had fun last year with social media posts comparing his pre-snap stance to Myers’s, and even dressed up as the iconic movie killer for an Instagram post last year. He has said that stance was about being relaxed and comfortable.
