Tag: Doak Walker Award

Two Wisconsin running backs named to Doak Walker Award watch list

More watch list news:

The Wisconsin football program is no stranger to the Doak Walker Award. Several Badger greats have received the honor, including Jonathan Taylor in 2018 and 2019, Melvin Gordon in 2014, Montee Ball in 2012 and Ron Dayne in 1999.

Wisconsin shares tremendous company with Texas with the most winners (5) since the award began in 1990 — Texas boasting Bijan Robinson, D’Onta Foreman, Cedric Benson and Ricky Williams (twice).

As is the case most years when August rolls around, Wisconsin Badgers are included on the award’s watch list for the upcoming season. Usually, the team’s starter receives the nod. But this year there are multiple, as both Braelon Allen and Chez Mellusi made this year’s list.

Injuries have defined Mellusi’s few years in Madison. The former Clemson running back has played in 18 games over the last two years, rushing for a total of 1288 yards and 7 touchdowns. The talent is clearly there, so with health in 2023 should come impressive play.

Meanwhile, not much needs to be said about what Allen can do on the football field. The rising junior battled through ailments last year to rush for 1242 yards and 11 touchdowns.

With Phil Longo’s offense set to open up the middle of the field for the running backs, both Mellusi and Allen should experience great success in 2023. A Doak Walker Award seems like a bit of a long shot, however, given the inevitable split of carries between the two top backs.

Doak Walker Award Preseason Watch List includes Rocket Sanders

Rocket Sanders earns a spot on the Doak Walker Award preseason watch list ahead of 2023.

[autotag]Rocket Sanders[/autotag] continues to rack up the preseason honors and accolades.

The Arkansas running back was one of the players named to the Doak Walker Award’s preseason watch list on Wednesday morning. The Doak Walker Award is given to the nation’s top college running back each year.

Sanders is coming off an incredible 2022 season that saw him rush for 1,443 yards and 10 touchdowns, which is the fourth-most by a running back in a single season in Razorback history. He joined Darren McFadden as just the second Razorback to ever run for more than 1,400 yards and return to school the following year.

The Rockledge, Fla. native finished second in the SEC in rushing last season – behind Ole Miss tailback Quinshon Judkins. His performance last year earned him first team All-SEC honors from the Associated Press (AP) and USA Today. Late last month, Sanders was named to the Maxwell Award preseason watch list – the award given to the best player in college football.

Sanders will headline the Razorback backfield when they kick off the season on Sept. 2 against Western Carolina at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.

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Will Shipley named to the Doak Walker Award watch list, presented annually to the nation’s top running back

Shipley is one of the best running backs in the country.

The PwC SMU Athletic Forum announced today that running back Will Shipley has been named to the 2023 watch list for the Doak Walker Award, presented annually to the nation’s top running back.

Additional information from award organizers is included below. Visit the 2023 Preseason Honors hub for more preseason accolades garnered by Clemson.

DALLAS – The PwC SMU Athletic Forum released today the preseason candidates for the 2023 Doak Walker Award. The Forum annually presents the award to the nation’s top college running back.

The list features 2022 Doak Walker Award finalist Blake Corum who rushed for over 132 yards per game through Michigan’s first 11 contests before suffering a season-ending knee injury. Quinshon Judkins from Ole Miss who was a semifinalist for the Award and led the SEC in rushing in 2022, Braelon Allen from Wisconsin, who has amassed 2,500 rushing yards over the past two seasons, and Raheim Sanders from Arkansas who rushed for 1,433 yards in 2022, are also featured among the list of preseason candidates.

University athletic departments nominate candidates for the award and can continue to do so through October. The complete list of candidates is below.

Rasheen Ali (So), Marshall
Braelon Allen (Jr.), Wisconsin
Kaytron Allen (So.), Penn State
LeQuint Allen (So.), Syracuse
Emani Bailey (Jr.), TCU
Sieh Bangura (So.), Ohio
Jovantae Barnes (So.), Oklahoma
Kevorian Barnes (So.), UTSA
Trey Benson (Jr.), Florida State
Tahj Brooks (Sr.), Texas Tech
Antario Brown (Jr.), NIU
Jermaine Brown Jr. (Sr.), UAB
Noah Cain (Sr.), LSU
Marcus Carroll (Sr.), Georgia State
Blake Corum (Sr.), Michigan
Marquis Crosby (So.), Louisiana Tech
CJ Donaldson Jr. (So.), West Virginia
Donovan Edwards (Jr.), Michigan
Justice Ellison (Jr.), Wake Forest
Davion Ervin-Poindexter (Jr.), WKU
Audric Estime’ (Jr.), Notre Dame
Samson Evans (Grad.), Eastern Michigan
Pat Garwo (Grad.), Boston College
Rodney Hammond Jr. (Jr.), Pitt
Deion Hankins (Jr.), UTEP
Rahjai Harris (Jr.), East Carolina
RJ Harvey (Sr.), UCF
Roman Hemby (So.), Maryland
TreVeyon Henderson (Jr.), Ohio State
Daniel Hishaw Jr. (So.), Kansas
George Holani (Sr.), Boise State
Bucky Irving (Jr.), Oregon
Kaleb Johnson (So.), Iowa
Kobe Johnson (Grad.), Colorado State
Austin Jones (Sr.), USC
Jawhar Jordan (Jr.), Louisville
Quinshon Judkins (So.), Ole Miss
Reggie Love III (Sr.), Illinois
Jaylin Lucas (So.), Indiana
Jo’Quavious Marks (Sr.), Mississippi State
Damien Martinez (So.), Oregon State
Tony Mathis Jr. (Jr.), Houston
Alton McCaskill (So.), Colorado
Josh McCray (So.), Illinois
Chez Mellusi (Grad.), Wisconsin
Devin Mockobee (So.), Purdue
Devin Neal (Jr.), Kansas
Nate Noel (Jr.), App State
Jaydn Ott (So.), Cal
Frank Peasant (Jr.), Middle Tennessee
Richard Reese (So.), Baylor
Aidan Robbins (Jr.), BYU
Kairee Robinson (Grad.), San Jose State
Raheim Sanders (Jr.), Arkansas
Trey Sanders (Jr.), TCU
Will Shipley (Jr.), Clemson
Nicholas Singleton (So.), Penn State
Cam Skattebo (Jr.), Arizona State
Jabari Small (Sr.), Tennessee
Dontae Smith (Sr.), Georgia Tech
E.J. Smith (Sr.), Stanford
Kavosiey Smoke (Grad), Colorado
Carson Steele (Jr.), UCLA
Bhayshul Tuten (Jr.), Virginia Tech
Kimani Vidal (Jr.), Troy
Treshaun Ward (Sr.), Kansas State
Dre’lyn Washington (So.), Louisiana
Nakia Watson (Sr.), Washington State
La’Damian Webb (Sr.), South Alabama
Noah Whittington (Jr.), Oregon
Michael Wiley (Sr.), Arizona
Sy’veon Wilkerson (So.), Colorado
Josh Williams (Grad.), LSU
Miyan Williams (Sr.), Ohio State
Jaylen Wright (Jr.), Tennessee

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 recipient of the 2023 Doak Walker Award will be announced live on The Home Depot College Football Awards.

The award is named for SMU’s three-time All-America running back Doak Walker. It is the only major collegiate award that requires all candidates to be in good academic standing and on schedule to graduate within one year of other students of the same classification.

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Honoring the legends of sports for 33 years, the PwC SMU Athletic Forum celebrates outstanding success in athletics. Based in Dallas, the series features major figures from a variety of sports. The PwC SMU Athletic Forum includes four luncheons and the prestigious Doak Walker Award Presentation Banquet.

The Doak Walker Award is a member of the National College Football Awards Association. Founded in 1997, the NCFAA includes college football’s most prestigious awards and its 24 awards have honored more than 900 recipients dating back to 1935. This season, 12 NCFAA awards will honor national players of the week each Tuesday.

Sixteen NCFAA members are unveiling preseason watch lists over a two-week period as the association spearheads a coordinated effort to promote each award’s preseason candidates. Following is the remaining 2023 preseason watch list calendar:

Thu., Aug. 10: Butkus Award/Paycom Jim Thorpe Award
Fri., Aug. 11: Walter Camp Award

Mon., Aug. 14: Bednarik Award

For more information about the NCFAA and its award programs, visit the redesigned NCFAA.org or follow on Twitter at @NCFAA.

-Via Clemson Athletic Communications

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Oregon’s two-headed tailback monster on Doak Walker watch list

Bucky Irving and Noah Whittington have been put on the Doak Walker Award preseason watch list.

Oregon has been known for its running back duos for quite some some beginning with LaMichael James and Kenyon Barner. The Ducks’ latest duo of Bucky Irving and Noah Whittington is collecting their share of mentions on award watch lists.

Both Irving and Whittington are on the preseason watch list for the Doak Walker Award, which goes out to the nation’s best tailback in college football.

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The Oregon duo came into Eugene last season as transfers, Irving from Minnesota and Whittington from Western Kentucky, and they both had stellar first seasons as Ducks.

Irving gained 1,058 yards and scored five touchdowns with Whittington complementing him with 779 yards and also five scores. More of the same if expected from these two in 2023.

Bijan Robinson from Texas was last season’s Doak Walker Award winner.

 

Notre Dame players named to preseason award watch lists

Will anyone win this year?

It’s the time of year when we start seeing award watch lists come out in anticipation of the college football season. With Notre Dame expected to be highly ranked once again, there are plenty of players who are ripe for watching. Whether or not any of them actually take home any of this hardware is anyone’s guess right now, but they’re at least on the radar of those who know college football best.

In some cases, more than one Notre Dame player is on the watch list for the same award. Also, as different award watch lists come on different days, it can be difficult to keep track of them all. Rest assured, we will be doing just that as these lists continue to come out.

At season’s end, we’ll find out if any of them or maybe somebody different becomes the first national award winner for the Irish since [autotag]Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah[/autotag] won the Butkus Award in 2020:

Badgers tied for all-time lead in top RB award

Is Braelon Allen the next Doak Walker Award winner from the Badgers?

The Doak Walker Award, established in 1990, is awarded to the nation’s top collegiate running back every season. Named after Walker, a former RB at Southern Methodist (1945-1949), it’s the highest honor a ball carrier can earn for their position.

Wisconsin has produced some of the best running backs in the country in the last couple decades and has gained some steam as the “running back university”. In the end though, the Badgers have never been able to get over the hump and make a national championship, regardless of their backfield talent. Looking to the future, new head coach Luke Fickell and offensive coordinator Phil Longo have reassured fans that the running mentality will not be erased moving forward, but only time will tell.

Overall, the Badgers have had five winners of the Doak Walker Award, tying them with the Texas Longhorns for most ever. Here’s a look into the impressive athletes to don the Badger red and white:

Signing Day Superlatives: Which Notre Dame commits will have major impacts

This Irish class is loaded with talent

It wasn’t how [autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag] envisioned his first full recruiting class to end as the loss of [autotag]Peyton Bowen[/autotag] and [autotag]Jayden Limar[/autotag] to Oregon put a bit of a damper on what should be viewed as a very impressive initial group.

The 2023 recruiting cycle will always be remembers as Freeman’s first, a collection of 24 players who can make a very big impact in the future for the program. There will be more than a few stars from this class and since they are now officially member of the [autotag]Notre Dame[/autotag] program, we can not dream of what they will accomplish on the field.

Here is my best guess as which players will have major contributions for the Irish in the years to come.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Mike on Twitter: @MikeFChen

Texas RB Bijan Robinson wins the 2022 Doak Walker Award

Bijan brings Texas its record-setting fifth Doak Walker Award.

National college football awards were announced on Thursday night. It comes as no surprise that Bijan Robinson was involved in the ceremony.

Robinson was the clear cut best running back in college football this season. Some would argue he was the best player. The Doak Walker did right by the talented back recognizing him as the best at his position.

Bijan will go down in Texas football history as one of the greatest running backs in program history. Although he might not top the rushing charts for the program, he has a claim as perhaps the most uniquely gifted back to wear the burnt orange.

The award would be a great finish to what would be an incredible college career. Texas is now tied with Wisconsin at No. 1 all-time in Doak Walker Awards with five. Four Longhorn running backs have earned the prestigious award. Ricky Williams took home the trophy twice.

Here’s a look at the two most significant Big 12 representatives from the night.

A statistical comparison of each Doak Walker Award finalist

A deeper dive into the Doak Walker Award finalists.

The college football regular season has officially come to an end. As we approach conference championship week, honors for the most prestigious awards in the sport are being released.

The finalist for the 2022 Doak Walker Award was announced earlier this week. The Doak Walker is given annually to the best running back in college football. Bijan Robinson (Texas), Blake Corum (Michigan) and Chase Brown (Illinois) are the three players in contention for the award.

All of the finalists enjoyed fantastic seasons for their respective programs. In a great year of running back play across the nation, Robinson, Corum and Brown separated themselves from the pack.

The winner of the 2022 Doak Walker Award is set to be announced at the Home Depot College Football Awards on Thursday, Dec. 8.

Here is a statistical comparison of each of the three finalists hoping for the award. Bijan Robinson is the clear favorite based on the numbers alone.

Shipley named Doak Walker National Running Back of the Week

In the Tigers latest win over Syracuse, Shipley led Clemson in rushing with a career-high 172 yards and two touchdowns.

Via Clemson Athletic Communications:

Clemson running back Will Shipley rushed for a career-high of 172 yards and two touchdowns as the Tigers remained unbeaten with a 27-21 comeback win over previously unbeaten Syracuse. The performance earned him the Doak Walker National Running Back of the Week honor for games of the weekend of Oct. 22.

The 5-11, 205-pound sophomore from Weddington, N.C., busted a 50-yard touchdown run with 11:26 to play to give Clemson the lead for good, rallying from an 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter to give the Tigers a 38th consecutive home win, an Atlantic Coast Conference record. Overall, Clemson is now riding a 14-game winning streak.

The 100-yard game was the seventh of Shipley’s career and the eighth time he’s scored multiple touchdowns. Saturday’s scores were the 20th and 21st of his career as Clemson rushed a season-high 60 times for a season-high 293 yards. To go with his 27 carries, Shipley added 53 on two kickoff return yards and 17 receiving yards on three catches to finish the day with 242 all-purpose yards, four more than his previous career high set the previous week at Florida State.

The Tigers are idle this week before traveling to Notre Dame for a Nov. 5 prime-time game on NBC at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Other candidates for the honor in Week 8 included:

– Roman Hembry, Maryland: The redshirt freshman rushed for a career-high 179 yards – his fourth-career 100-yard game – and scored three touchdowns as the Terps topped Northwestern, 31-24. One play after Northwestern scored to tie the game at 24, Hembry broke off a career-long 75-yard touchdown run with 3:22 left to play to put the Terps ahead for good.

– Dae Dae Hunter, Liberty: The sophomore ran 23 times for 213 yards and a touchdown as the Flames scored 38 unanswered points in blasting BYU, 41-14. Hunter reeled off an 80-yard touchdown run, the third-longest in program history. The 213 rushing yards are the most by a Liberty player since 2008, and Hunter’s 31 receiving yards in the game gave him 244 all-purpose yards on the day.

– Deneric Prince, Tulsa: The senior ran for a career-high 231 yards on 20 carries as Tulsa won at Temple last Friday, 27-16, despite an early 10-0 deficit. Prince had Tulsa’s first 200-yard game since 2017, which Included an 84-yard score, the fourth-longest run in school history. It was Prince’s fourth 100-yard game and first of the season. He also added his first touchdown reception, an 18-yarder in the first half.

The Doak Walker Award presented by the PwC SMU Athletic Forum has been awarded to the nation’s top running back since 1990. For the first time, the award is recognizing a national running back of the week this season. A select 20-person committee from the award’s full voting body of media and past winners chooses the weekly recipient. On July 20, a preseason candidates list was released and semifinalists for the award will be named on Nov. 22. A week later, the three finalists will be announced.

The 2022 Doak Walker Award winner will be unveiled live on The Home Depot College Football Awards, televised by ESPN on Dec. 8. The annual banquet, where the winner and the recipient of the 2022 PwC Doak Walker Legends Award will be honored, will take place in February on the SMU campus.

The Doak Walker Award is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA), which encompasses college football’s most prestigious awards. The NCFAA’s 25 awards have honored more than 800 recipients since 1935. Visit NCFAA.org for more information.

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