 The Doak Walker Award, designed by artist Blair Buswell | |
| Awarded for | The nation's top college football running back |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Presented by | SMU |
| History | |
| First award | 1990 |
| Most recent | Ollie Gordon II, Oklahoma State |
| Website | www |
The Doak Walker Award honors the top running back in college football in the United States. Established in 1990, it is named in honor of Doak Walker, a former running back who played for the SMU Mustangs from 1945 to 1949 and in the National Football League (NFL) for the Detroit Lions from 1950 to 1955. The player is selected by the award's National Selection Committee, which consists of notable sportswriters, television commentators, analysts, radio sports personalities and former All-America and NFL All-Pro football players.[1] Recipients receive a bronze sculpture of Doak Walker, designed by artist Blair Buswell.
Notable Accomplishments[edit]
Wisconsin running backs won four times in eight years from 2012 to 2019. Wisconsin and Texas are tied with the most wins with 5 apiece.[2]
Ricky Williams (Texas – 1997, 1998), Darren McFadden (Arkansas – 2006, 2007) and Jonathan Taylor (Wisconsin – 2018, 2019) are the only three players to win the award more than once.
Winners[edit]
| Made at least one Pro Bowl during career | |||||
References[edit]
- General
- Doak Walker Award Winners. Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved December 13, 2016.
- College Football Awards – Doak Walker Award. ESPN.com. Retrieved December 13, 2016.
- Footnotes
- ^ "Selection Committee - SMU".
- ^ a b c d Galloway, Jason. "Badgers running back Jonathan Taylor becomes 4th Wisconsin player to win Doak Walker Award". madison.com. Retrieved 2018-12-07.
- ^ "Dayne Wins Walker, Maxwell". CBS News. December 9, 1999. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
- ^ "TCU's LaDainian Tomlinson Named Winner of the 2000 Doak Walker Award Presented by Vectrix". Texas Christian University Athletics. December 9, 2000. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
- ^ "Tebow takes Maxwell, O'Brien; McFadden wins Walker". ESPN.com. December 7, 2007. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
- ^ Rittenberg, Adam (December 11, 2008). "Iowa's Greene wins Doak Walker Award". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
- ^ "Stanford's Toby Gerhart wins Doak Walker Award". The Mercury News. December 10, 2009. Retrieved December 13, 2016.
- ^ "Oregon RB LaMichael James wins Doak Walker Award". San Diego Union-Tribune. Associated Press. December 9, 2010. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
- ^ "Alabama's Trent Richardson wins Doak Walker Award". ESPN.com. Associated Press. December 8, 2011. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
- ^ Temple, Jesse (December 6, 2012). "Wisconsin's Ball wins Doak Walker Award". Fox Sports. Retrieved December 13, 2016.
- ^ Hightower, Kyle (December 12, 2013). "BC's Andre Williams Wins Doak Walker Award". Associated Press. Retrieved December 13, 2016.
- ^ Potrykus, Jeff (December 11, 2014). "Melvin Gordon wins Doak Walker Award as top running back". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved December 13, 2016.
- ^ Zucker, Joseph (December 12, 2019). "Wisconsin's Jonathan Taylor Wins 2019 Doak Walker Award as Nation's Best RB". Bleacher Report.
- ^ Martin, Tyler (January 7, 2021). "Alabama RB Najee Harris Wins 2020 Doak Walker Award". Sports Illustrated.