After a historic season, Boise State running back and Heisman Trophy runner-up Ashton Jeanty is declaring for the 2025 NFL draft, he announced Tuesday.

“The opportunity to play in the NFL is a dream of mine,” Jeanty wrote in social media post. “I’m proud to represent Boise State and all of those who have helped me along the way at the next level.”

In 14 games this season, Jeanty totaled 2,601 rushing yards and 29 touchdowns, averaging seven yards per carry on 374 carries. Jeanty’s rushing total is the second highest for a running back in FBS history, behind only Barry Sanders’ 1988 campaign (2,628 yards).

Bronco 4L🐴💙 #deuce pic.twitter.com/gtrKJUcDOd

— Deuce 2️⃣ (@AshtonJeanty2) January 7, 2025

The junior is projected as the top running back in the upcoming draft, according to ESPN draft analyst Jordan Reid.

Jeanty, 21, has had a unique path to the pros. The Jacksonville, Florida, native moved to a naval base in Naples, Italy, at age 12 and played football there for one season as a high school freshman. He returned stateside and played high school football in Texas for three years before committing to the Broncos.

Jeanty saw limited snaps during his freshman campaign in Boise but made a leap in his sophomore season (1,347 yards and 14 touchdowns) that set up his iconic junior year.

It was clear once the 2024 season began that Jeanty was going to be the fulcrum of the Broncos’ offense. In the season opener, Jeanty had 267 yards and six touchdowns. He didn’t look back, barreling his way through nearly every defender and defense he saw on his way to jaw-dropping runs and a College Football Playoff appearance.

After carrying the ball a whopping 750 times over three seasons, Jeanty finished his college career with 4,769 rushing yards and 50 touchdowns.

Northern Illinois will join the Mountain West as a football-only member in 2026, the school and conference announced Tuesday.

“What a great opportunity for NIU Athletics as we expand our horizons, adapt to this new national model of college athletics and prepare to start a new chapter in the history of NIU Football,” NIU athletic director Sean T. Frazier said in a statement.

In addition to NIU, the Mountain West will include Air Force, Hawai’i, UNLV, Nevada, New Mexico, San Jose State and Wyoming in 2026.

The move is another fallen domino in college sports’ ongoing conference realignment process that caught up to the Mountain West in the fall, when Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Utah State announced they were leaving for the new-look Pac-12, which collapsed in 2023.

“We are excited about adding Northern Illinois football to the Mountain West,” commissioner Gloria Nevarez said in a statement. “In evaluating NIU, the MW Board of Directors and Directors of Athletics carefully considered and were impressed by its history of football success and its commitment to academic excellence.”

It is unclear what conference NIU’s remaining sports will compete in once it moves to the Mountain West for football. The school said it will continue discussions with the Mid-American Conference — where it has participated since 1997 — but will also review opportunities in “several of the regionally based multi-sport conferences.”

The Mountain West also recently announced the additions of Grand Canyon and UC Davis for sports other than football (Grand Canyon does not have football; Davis will remain at the FCS level).

Georgia added another potential playmaker to its receiving corps on Tuesday, as former Texas A&M standout Noah Thomas committed to play for the Bulldogs in 2025.

Thomas, who has one season of eligibility remaining, led the Aggies with 39 catches for 574 yards and eight touchdowns this past season.

On Sunday, the Bulldogs added former USC receiver/kick returner Zachariah Branch, who was the No. 9 overall player and No. 4 receiver in ESPN’s transfer portal rankings. He had 1,863 all-purpose yards with the Trojans in two seasons and returned two kickoffs for scores in 2023.

At 6-foot-6, Thomas gives the Bulldogs a much-needed target in the red zone, which they were lacking this past season. His best performance came in a 43-41 loss in four overtimes at Auburn on Nov. 23, with five catches for 124 yards with two scores. He had six receptions for 109 yards and one score in a 21-17 victory over Arkansas on Sept. 28.

Earlier Tuesday, receiver Dillon Bell announced that he’ll return to Georgia for one more season. The junior had 43 catches for 466 yards with four touchdowns in 2024.

The Bulldogs are expected to lose their top two receivers: Dominic Lovett, who has exhausted his eligibility, and Arian Smith, who announced he’s forgoing his senior season to enter the NFL draft. Receiver Anthony Evans III also entered the transfer portal.

The Bulldogs led all FBS teams with 36 receiver drops this season, according to ESPN Research.

Georgia also landed two safeties from the transfer portal on Tuesday: Miami’s Jaden Harris and UAB’s Adrian Maddox, who had committed to Florida on Sunday. Harris started 13 games for the Hurricanes this past season and had 40 tackles, 1.5 sacks and 1 interception.