1. I mean by all accounts, he is. You said guys like McCaffery and Bijan weren't elite prospects, and neither is Jeanty, but I really wanna know what would make an elite HB prospect then. These guys top college stats, have the film, and in the case of McCaffery and Bijan, provide noticeable value to their teams. I really am curious then to what else could a HB prospect have to be an elite prospect.
2. Oregon didn't get to #1 with a bad defense. He also played against UNLV twice this season, which was ranked and had a very good team, and Washington in 2023. He put up good numbers in all of these games with a significantly worse surrounding cast. I really am not sure what else you would want in terms of competition either. Most college teams only play around 2-3 good teams each year. National Champs Ohio State only played against Oregon, Penn State, and Michigan regular season. It's just not common for most teams to constantly be battling against high level teams. And even in the cases Jeanty did, he constantly put up 100+ games.
3. Then that opens up the passing game? No one expects Jeanty to completely carry an offense, but if he's able to force the defense to completely focus on the run, I'm not sure how this is a negative.
4. It's not blind love, he's just very clearly in the elite talent basket of this class.