Heisman Trophy candidate Ashton Jeanty's football roots trace back to a Navy base in Italy

GRICIGNANO DI AVERSA, Italy (AP) — The football field immediately strikes the eye for visitors driving on an overpass approaching the U.S. Navy Support Site outside of Naples.

An American football field in the middle of southern Italy.

Turn past the pothole-filled local streets, get through the security gate, and the unkempt Italian roads are replaced by perfectly paved thoroughfares. Home to more than 500 families, the Navy base is where Heisman Trophy candidate Ashton Jeanty learned to play football.

Now a junior running back for 15th-ranked Boise State and a unanimous selection on The Associated Press midseason All-America team, Jeanty’s talents were first spotted by Naples High School football coach Jim Davis when he was in seventh grade.

Not on the football field, though. That's because tackle football wasn’t an option for middle schoolers.

It was on the basketball court during middle school lunch.

“He’s going up for a layup and he’s getting so much height I’m thinking this kid’s about to dunk the ball,” said Davis, who also teaches physical education at the school. “As a seventh grader, you can imagine how short he is. He’s 5-9, 5-10 now. So he was probably closer to 5-4 or 5-5. And it’s like, ‘Wow, look at the power this kid has at such a young age.’”

Davis had to wait two years to unleash that power in his team when Jeanty was a high school freshman in 2018.

And it wasn’t until the coach moved Jeanty from quarterback two games into the season that he really began to take off.

“I realized he needed to be the running back. I could get anybody to hand off the ball to him,” Davis told the AP during an interview at the military base this week.

In the remaining four games of Naples’ season, Jeanty ran for over 1,200 yards on fewer than 100 carries and scored 17 touchdowns.

“I’d be lying to you if I told you that (I thought) he would be a Heisman candidate,” Davis said. “The only person that probably really felt that way was himself. But I knew he could play at the next level, and that’s why I knew he had to leave here to get the exposure.”

So Davis encouraged Jeanty to go back to the U.S. for his final three years of high school. And that’s what Jeanty did by enrolling at Lone Star High School in Frisco, Texas. Now he leads the nation with 1,376 yards in seven games for Boise State and is considered the top running back prospect for the NFL draft.

The one year of football that Jeanty played in Italy was unlike anything most American high school athletes experience.

Naples’ closest competition is nine hours away at a similar base in Vicenza in northern Italy. During Jeanty’s season, the team also played games in Germany, Belgium and Spain. The game in Germany required an 18-hour bus ride.

Current Naples quarterback Camden Kasparek was the ballboy when Jeanty played on the team.

“On those long bus trips, you do a lot of team bonding, a lot of cool opportunities, a lot of fun trips with the team,” Kasparek said, adding that Jeanty still keeps in touch with him via social media and follows the school’s results.

Featuring a movie theater, a bowling alley and a supermarket stocked with American goods, the Navy base is like a home away from home for the kids who live there.

“We have Popeyes and Wendy’s and Subway, and they can buy American clothes and they can buy Skippy peanut butter and Halloween candies now and they’ll go trick or treating here shortly,” Davis said. “So, yeah, it’s very much like a little America.”

Because the Navy support site field doesn’t have lights, some of the team’s games are played at the Carney Park military recreational facility inside a dormant volcano in nearby Pozzuoli.

The rec site is linked to a relationship between the U.S. military community and Naples that dates back to World War II.

“It’s pretty neat," Davis said. “You see the crater all around you.”

Growing up in a military family helped shape who Jeanty is.

“The sense of discipline, order. You work until the job (is) done, not just because the time is over,” Davis said. “He has that work ethic.”

Other athletes have followed Jeanty’s path before from overseas bases to the elite level like George Teague, Michael Strahan, Alejandro Villanueva — and Shaquille O’Neal in basketball.

Military life translates well to football.

“It’s all about teamwork, discipline and honoring the chain of command: not having to like the person next to you, but respecting them to get the mission complete," Davis said.

Davis often wakes up during the middle of the night now to watch Jeanty play. What he sees isn’t much different from what the coach witnessed first-hand six years ago.

“He wouldn’t go down on the first hit. He was explosive. You just felt like you’re always sitting on the edge of your seat waiting for him. You know, next touch might be a touchdown,” Davis said.

“Most of our games were high scoring, like 45-42, 38-35. We were just very fortunate most of those times that we had the ball last. So we were never out of it as long as we gave it to No. 2.”

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Wildcats team Quarterback Camden Kasparek is interviewed by The Associated Press at the football field of the U.S. Naval Support – Site in Gricignano di Aversa, southern Italy, Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Coach Jim Davis is interviewed by The Associated Press prior to the start of a training session at the football field of the U.S. Naval Support – Site in Gricignano di Aversa, southern Italy, Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Wildcats team players practice during a training session at the football field of the U.S. Naval Support – Site in Gricignano di Aversa, southern Italy, Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Wildcats team players practice during a training session at the football field of the U.S. Naval Support – Site in Gricignano di Aversa, southern Italy, Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Wildcats team Coach Jim Davis is interviewed by The Associated Press as Quarterback Camden Kasparek practices at the football field of the U.S. Naval Support – Site in Gricignano di Aversa, southern Italy, Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Coach Jim Davis, background center, talks to his players during a training session at the football field of the U.S. Naval Support – Site in Gricignano di Aversa, southern Italy, Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Coach Jim Davis attends a training session at the football field of the U.S. Naval Support – Site in Gricignano di Aversa, southern Italy, Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Coach Jim Davis is interviewed by The Associated Press prior to the start of a training session at the football field of the U.S. Naval Support – Site in Gricignano di Aversa, southern Italy, Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Coach Jim Davis, center, talks to his players during a training session at the football field of the U.S. Naval Support – Site in Gricignano di Aversa, southern Italy, Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

CORRECTS YEAR - Ashton Jeanty, bottom first from left, poses for a team picture in Naples, Italy Sept. 2018. (Sharon James via AP)

Wildcats team Quarterback Camden Kasparek practices during a training session at the football field of the U.S. Naval Support – Site in Gricignano di Aversa, southern Italy, Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

CORRECTS YEAR - Ashton Jeanty, second from right, smiles with his teammates in Spangdahlem, Germany on Sept. 2018. (David Albright via AP)

Coach Jim Davis shows the jersey worn by Ashton Jeanty as he is interviewed by The Associated Press prior to the start of a training session at the football field of the U.S. Naval Support – Site in Gricignano di Aversa, southern Italy, Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Federal agents carrying out immigration arrests in Minnesota's Twin Cities region already shaken by the fatal shooting of a woman rammed the door of one home Sunday and pushed their way inside, part of what the Department of Homeland Security has called its largest enforcement operation ever.

In a dramatic scene similar to those playing out across Minneapolis, agents captured a man in the home just minutes after pepper spraying protesters outside who had confronted the heavily armed federal agents. Along the residential street, protesters honked car horns, banged on drums and blew whistles in attempts to disrupt the operation.

Video of the clash taken by The Associated Press showed some agents pushing back protesters while a distraught woman later emerged from the house with a document that federal agents presented to arrest the man. Signed by an immigration officer, the document — unlike a warrant signed by a judge — does not authorize forced entry into a private residence. A warrant signed by an immigration officer only authorizes arrest in a public area.

Immigrant advocacy groups have conducted extensive “know-your-rights” campaigns urging people not to open their doors unless agents have a court order signed by a judge.

But within minutes of ramming the door in a neighborhood filled with single-family homes, the handcuffed man was led away.

More than 2,000 immigration arrests have been made in Minnesota since the enforcement operation began at the beginning of December, said Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told Fox News on Sunday that the administration would send additional federal agents to Minnesota to protect immigration officers and continue enforcement.

The Twin Cities — the latest target in President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement campaign — is bracing for what is next after 37-year-old Renee Good was shot and killed by an immigration officer on Wednesday.

“We’re seeing a lot of immigration enforcement across Minneapolis and across the state, federal agents just swarming around our neighborhoods,” said Jason Chavez, a Minneapolis city councilmember. “They’ve definitely been out here.”

Chavez, the son of Mexican immigrants who represents an area with a growing immigrant population, said he is closely monitoring information from chat groups about where residents are seeing agents operating.

People holding whistles positioned themselves in freezing temperatures on street corners Sunday in the neighborhood where Good was killed, watching for any signs of federal agents.

More than 20,000 people have taken part in a variety of trainings to become “observers” of enforcement activities in Minnesota since the 2024 election, said Luis Argueta, a spokesperson for Unidos MN, a local human rights organization .

“It’s a role that people choose to take on voluntarily, because they choose to look out for their neighbors,” Argueta said.

The protests have been largely peaceful, but residents remained anxious. On Monday, Minneapolis public schools will start offering remote learning for the next month in response to concerns that children might feel unsafe venturing out while tensions remain high.

Many schools closed last week after Good’s shooting and the upheaval that followed.

While the enforcement activity continues, two of the state’s leading Democrats said that the investigation into Good's shooting death should not be overseen solely by the federal government.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and U.S. Sen. Tina Smith said in separate interviews Sunday that state authorities should be included in the investigation because the federal government has already made clear what it believes happened.

“How can we trust the federal government to do an objective, unbiased investigation, without prejudice, when at the beginning of that investigation they have already announced exactly what they saw — what they think happened," Smith said on ABC’s "This Week."

The Trump administration has defended the officer who shot Good in her car, saying he was protecting himself and fellow agents and that Good had “weaponized” her vehicle.

Todd Lyons, acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, defended the officer on Fox News Channel’s “The Sunday Briefing.”

"That law enforcement officer had milliseconds, if not short time to make a decision to save his life and his other fellow agents,” he said.

Lyons also said the administration’s enforcement operations in Minnesota wouldn't be needed “if local jurisdictions worked with us to turn over these criminally illegal aliens once they are already considered a public safety threat by the locals.”

The killing of Good by an ICE officer and the shooting of two people by federal agents in Portland, Oregon, led to dozens of protests in cities across the country over the weekend, including New York, Los Angeles, Washington D.C. and Oakland, California.

Contributing were Associated Press journalists Giovanna Dell’Orto in Minneapolis; Thomas Strong in Washington; Bill Barrow in Atlanta; Christopher Weber in Los Angeles; and John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio.

A woman gets into an altercation with a federal immigration officer as officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

A federal immigration officer deploys pepper spray as officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

A family member, center, reacts after federal immigration officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Bystanders are treated after being pepper sprayed as federal immigration officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

A family member reacts after federal immigration officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Federal agents look on after detaining a person during a patrol in Minneapolis, Minn., Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP)

Bystanders react after a man was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents during a traffic stop, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Robbinsdale, Minn. (AP Photo/John Locher)

People stand near a memorial at the site where Renee Good was fatally shot by an ICE agent, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jen Golbeck)

A man looks out of a car window after being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents during a traffic stop, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Robbinsdale, Minn. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Border Patrol agents detain a man, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

People shout toward Border Patrol agents making an arrest, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

Demonstrators protest outside the White House in Washington, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent who fatally shot Renee Good in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey holds a news conference on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jen Golbeck)

Protesters react as they visit a makeshift memorial during a rally for Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer earlier in the week, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)