Boise State's Ajayi still with something to prove in Fiesta Bowl
PHOENIX -- It is not hard to spot Boise State running back Jay Ajayi. He is the one lugging the chip on his shoulder on another long touchdown run.
Ajayi entered the bowl season tied for the FBS lead with 29 touchdowns, and every one was to drive home a point.
"Always running angry," Ajayi said. "That's just always been how I've played, trying to have something to prove every time I touch the field. It's not an imaginary chip. There are people who take notice, and that is awesome, but there are people that are doubters. And even if there is one doubter, that is enough for me to have that chip on my shoulder that I want to prove to whoever it is that I am one of the best."
Ajayi made it harder and harder to disbelieve this season as he and the No. 20 Broncos (11-2) prepare to play No. 10 Arizona (10-3) in the Fiesta Bowl on New Year's Eve. He has 1,689 rushing yards, fifth in the FBS, and his 25 touchdown runs are second, one fewer than Wisconsin's Melvin Gordon. Ajayi and Gordon have 29 total scores apiece.
It has been enough to convince NFL scouts, who project Ajayi to go anywhere from the first to the fourth round in the 2015 draft after he announced he will forego his senior season.
What was left? Ajayi had 1,425 rushing yards and 19 touchdowns in 2013, and the Broncos won their first outright Mountain West title this season.
"It wasn't really a hard decision, and that is a lot of credit to what this team has done this year," Ajayi said. "One of my goals coming into Boise State was to be able to leave my legacy here ... you don't want to leave and not feel like you've accomplished a lot at the school. For me to have that (championship) on my hat and say I was able to help bring that to Boise State, it's the best feeling in the world.
"And just looking at what I was able to accomplish this season from an individual standpoint, and how much did I think I would be able to do next season and still keep my stock and value as high as possible."
FIESTA BOWL
Arizona vs. Boise State
When: 2 p.m. Wednesday
Where: University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale
TV: ESPN
Arizona defensive coordinator Jeff Casteel agreed.
"He has great vision," Casteel said. "He's an NFL guy."
The chip helps, even if it took a while to develop, as Boise State offensive coordinator Mike Sanford said.
At 6-feet, 215-pounds, Ajayi moved with his family from Essex, England, to suburban Dallas in 2000. His first sport was soccer. Arsenal's Thierry Henry and Nicolas Anelka were his guys.
"Jay plays best when that chip is massive," Sanford said. "Jay always runs with a little chip on his shoulder, but when that chip is the size of Texas of maybe the size of the state of Idaho, that's when he plays his best. That's always been the challenge. When I first got here, I'm like this guy is such a sweetheart. I wanted him to be a dog. He has really taken that to heart.
"He's run this year with the intention of finishing and finishing guys off. I think the big thing for him is the way he has finished games. His most productive football this year has been in the third and fourth quarters."
Ajayi's signature game was a five-touchdown performance in a 50-19 victory over Utah State, which already won a bowl game this month. Ajayi had 17 carries for a career-high 229 yards in a game that capped a streak in which he had 14 touchdowns in four games, one on a 62-yard run and two on 73- and 75-yard receptions.
Ajayi was recruited by Texas A&M, Nebraska, Oklahoma State and TCU among others in his region. After a visit to Boise and some Google research, he committed to then-coach Chris Petersen and never budged.
"My told me to be a man of my word," Ajayi said. "I had fallen in love with Boise. After that, it was a done deal."
He found a perfect fit in the Great Blue North, where the sometimes-off-the-radar Broncos won 92 of their last 96 home games on the blue artificial surface at Albertsons Stadium.
"It was intriguing to me," Ajayi said. "I liked the fact that they wanted to be different. I liked the fact that they had such a great home field advantage. They didn't lose on the blue. I liked the fact that Boise State was an underdog. I felt like that's kind of how my story was in high school, where people did count me out.
"I felt like was a place where I could definitely fit in and succeed and thrive."
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