Doak Walker Award
The Doak Walker Award, designed by artist Blair Buswell
Awarded forThe nation's top college football running back
CountryUnited States
Presented bySMU
History
First award1990
Most recentOllie Gordon II, Oklahoma State
Websitesmu.edu/doakwalker

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

Wisconsin running backs won four times in eight years from 2012 to 2019. Wisconsin and Texas are tied with the most wins with 5 a piece.[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

Made at least one Pro Bowl during career
YearWinnerSchoolRef
1990Greg LewisWashington
1991Trevor CobbRice
1992Garrison HearstGeorgia
1993Byron "Bam" MorrisTexas Tech
1994Rashaan SalaamColorado
1995Eddie GeorgeOhio State
1996Byron HanspardTexas Tech (2)
1997Ricky WilliamsTexas
1998Texas (2)
1999Ron DayneWisconsin[3]
2000LaDainian TomlinsonTCU[4]
2001Luke StaleyBYU
2002Larry JohnsonPenn State
2003Chris PerryMichigan
2004Cedric BensonTexas (3)
2005Reggie BushUSC
2006Darren McFaddenArkansas[5]
2007Arkansas (2)
2008Shonn GreeneIowa[6]
2009Toby GerhartStanford[7]
2010LaMichael JamesOregon[8]
2011Trent RichardsonAlabama[9]
2012Montee BallWisconsin (2)[10]
2013Andre WilliamsBoston College[11]
2014Melvin GordonWisconsin (3)[12]
2015Derrick HenryAlabama (2)[2]
2016D'Onta ForemanTexas (4)[2]
2017Bryce LoveStanford (2)[2]
2018Jonathan TaylorWisconsin (4)[13]
2019Wisconsin (5)
2020Najee HarrisAlabama (3)[14]
2021Kenneth Walker IIIMichigan State
2022Bijan RobinsonTexas (5)
2023 Ollie Gordon II Oklahoma State

References

General
Footnotes
  1. ↑ "Selection Committee - SMU".
  2. 1 2 3 4 Journal, Jason Galloway | Wisconsin State. "Badgers running back Jonathan Taylor becomes 4th Wisconsin player to win Doak Walker Award". madison.com. Retrieved 2018-12-07.
  3. ↑ "Dayne Wins Walker, Maxwell". CBS News. December 9, 1999. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
  4. ↑ "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.
  5. ↑ "Tebow takes Maxwell, O'Brien; McFadden wins Walker". ESPN.com. December 7, 2007. Retrieved December 13, 2016.
  6. ↑ Rittenberg, Adam (December 11, 2008). "Iowa's Greene wins Doak Walker Award". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 13, 2016.
  7. ↑ "Stanford's Toby Gerhart wins Doak Walker Award". The Mercury News. December 10, 2009. Retrieved December 13, 2016.
  8. ↑ "Oregon RB LaMichael James wins Doak Walker Award". San Diego Union-Tribune. Associated Press. December 9, 2010. Retrieved December 13, 2016.
  9. ↑ "Alabama's Trent Richardson wins Doak Walker Award". ESPN.com. Associated Press. December 8, 2011. Retrieved December 13, 2016.
  10. ↑ Temple, Jesse (December 6, 2012). "Wisconsin's Ball wins Doak Walker Award". Fox Sports. Retrieved December 13, 2016.
  11. ↑ Hightower, Kyle (December 12, 2013). "BC's Andre Williams Wins Doak Walker Award". Associated Press. Retrieved December 13, 2016.
  12. ↑ Potrykus, Jeff (December 11, 2014). "Melvin Gordon wins Doak Walker Award as top running back". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved December 13, 2016.
  13. ↑ Zucker, Joseph (December 12, 2019). "Wisconsin's Jonathan Taylor Wins 2019 Doak Walker Award as Nation's Best RB". Bleacher Report.
  14. ↑ Martin, Tyler (January 7, 2021). "Alabama RB Najee Harris Wins 2020 Doak Walker Award". Sports Illustrated.
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