Auburn sophomore D.J. Williams has been named as one of the preseason candidates for the 2020 Doak Walker Award. The SMU PwC Athletic Forum released the list on Wednesday and Williams is one of 76 running backs eyeing the annual award presented to the nation’s top college running back.
As a freshman Williams recorded 400 rushing yards and two touchdowns within the span of eight games. He established himself as a valuable running back against No. 1 LSU when he rushed for a career-high 130 yards.
DJ Williams has WHEELS. pic.twitter.com/pJqqlAmNsI
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) October 26, 2019
His freshman year performance ranks him 16th all-time among Auburn freshman running backs. This season he’ll return as Auburn’s top rusher and will lead a talented running back corps consisting of fellow sophomores Shaun Shivers and Harold Joiner, redshirt freshman Mark-Antony Richards, and incoming 5-star freshman “Tank” Bigsby.
The Doak Walker Award was established in 1990, but in its 30 year history no Auburn player has won. In the last 16 years eight Auburn players have qualified as semifinalists including Kerryon Johnson, who is the most recent running back to be nominated (2017).
Per Greg Ostendorf of AuburnTigers.com the procedures behind selecting a winner are as follows:
For this year’s award, the PwC SMU Athletic Forum Board of Directors will name ten semifinalists in November, and three finalists, as voted on by the Doak Walker Award National Selection Committee, will be announced in November. The committee will cast a second vote in December to determine the recipient. The National Selection Committee consists of past recipients, former NFL All-Pro and college All-America running backs, media members and selected special representatives.
The 2020 Doak Walker Award winner will be announced live on The Home Depot College Football Awards.
Will D.J. Williams be the first running back in Auburn history to bring home the Doak Walker Award? More importantly, will Auburn finally have a 1,000 yard rusher again? Tell us your thoughts.