Football coaches usually scream at you if you stand up straight in the backfield. "Get low!" "Eyes up!" "Bend your knees!" It’s one of the first things they teach you in Pop Warner. But Ashton Jeanty doesn’t care. The Las Vegas Raiders running back—and former Boise State legend—looks like he’s waiting for a bus when the quarterback is barking out signals.
He stands perfectly vertical. His arms hang loose. He looks bored. Or, as the internet quickly realized, he looks exactly like Michael Myers stalking a victim in the Halloween movies.
The Origins of the Stance
The Ashton Jeanty Michael Myers stance isn't just a gimmick. It actually started during his junior year at Boise State. Before he was the sixth overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, Jeanty was putting up video-game numbers for the Broncos—2,601 rushing yards in a single season, to be exact. That's the second-most in FBS history, trailing only the legendary Barry Sanders.
So why stand like a slasher film villain?
Honestly, it’s about vision and relaxation. Jeanty has gone on record saying that being upright allows him to see over the offensive line much better. Most running backs are roughly 5’8” or 5’9”. When you’re crouched down behind a 6’5” guard, you’re basically looking at a wall of jersey fabric. By standing tall, Jeanty gets a panoramic view of the defense. He can see the safety creeping up or the linebacker leaning toward a specific gap before the ball even moves.
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Why Coaches Hate It (And Why They’re Wrong)
When Jeanty got to the NFL, the "fun" almost stopped. Raiders offensive coordinator Chip Kelly reportedly tried to kill the habit immediately. Kelly, a proponent of the "bent-knee game," famously used a basketball analogy during rookie minicamp. He asked Jeanty how he would guard someone on the court. Jeanty, of course, dropped into a defensive slide.
"Exactly," Kelly said. "That’s why you have to be down in your stance."
For the first three weeks of the 2025 NFL season, Jeanty listened. He played the "right" way. The results? They were... okay. He averaged about 49 yards per game and just 3.2 yards per carry. It wasn't the explosive, "scary" runner the Raiders drafted.
Then came Week 4 against the Chicago Bears. Jeanty basically said, "enough is enough." He went back to the Michael Myers posture. He looked relaxed. He looked menacing. And then he dropped 138 rushing yards and three total touchdowns.
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The Mechanics of the Ashton Jeanty Michael Myers Stance
If you watch the film, the stance creates a specific timing advantage. Because he’s so relaxed, he doesn't have any "tells." A lot of backs lean slightly when they know they’re getting the ball. Jeanty looks the same whether he’s pass-blocking, running a route, or taking a handoff.
It’s about conservation of energy, too.
- Muscle Tension: Staying in a deep crouch for 30+ snaps a game is exhausting.
- The Burst: Because he isn't "pre-loaded," he doesn't suffer from false steps.
- The Psychological Factor: Defenses find it genuinely unsettling to see a guy standing there nonchalantly before he suddenly explodes for 70 yards.
James Montgomery, Jeanty’s coach at Boise State, had a simple rule: "If you don't false step with your footwork, you can stand however you want." It’s hard to argue with a guy who broke the FBS record for 100-yard games in a season.
Dealing with the "Horror" Fame
Jeanty leaned into the meme hard in October 2024. He even did a photo shoot in the iconic white mask. But beneath the social media fun is a player who understands his body better than the traditionalists do. He’s not the only one doing it, either. People have pointed out that Detroit’s Jahmyr Gibbs and even Nick Chubb have used similar upright postures in the past.
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However, nobody does it with the same "slasher movie" stillness that Jeanty does.
What's really wild is how he transitions from that vertical stance to a low-center-of-gravity contact point in a split second. He’s a "squatty" runner—215 pounds of pure muscle packed into a 5'9" frame. Once he has the ball, he isn't standing tall anymore; he’s a bowling ball with 4.4 speed.
Real-World Takeaways for Athletes
If you’re a young player or a coach, the Ashton Jeanty Michael Myers stance teaches a valuable lesson about individual biomechanics. Not every "textbook" technique works for every body type.
- Prioritize Comfort: If a stance makes you feel stiff, your reaction time will be slower.
- Focus on Vision: If you can't see the defense, you can't react to the hole.
- Results Over Optics: If the production is there, the style points don't matter.
The Raiders have seemingly waved the white flag on trying to change him. If standing like a horror movie icon is what it takes to get 1,000-yard seasons, Chip Kelly and the rest of the staff will just have to get used to the view from the sidelines.
Next Steps:
Keep an eye on the pre-snap alignment during the next Raiders game. You can actually see the moment Jeanty "switches on" from the Michael Myers stance to his explosive first step. If you're a fantasy manager, notice how his production spikes when he's allowed to play with his natural posture versus when he's forced into a traditional crouch. Look for the "tell" or lack thereof—it's one of the most unique psychological advantages in the modern NFL.