2013 Preseason Award Projections: Doak Walker Award

By Charlie Campbell
Send Charlie an e-mail here: [email protected]
Follow Charlie on Twitter @draftcampbell for updates.


Heading into the 2013 college football season, WalterFootball.com will debut our projections for the nation’s leaders during the fall. The All-American teams always have some surprises, and this coming fall’s stars could be the headline players next April for the 2014 NFL Draft. We also will project the winners of the postseason awards that are given out to the best of college football.

The Doak Walker Award is given to the best running back in college football. Last year’s winner was Wisconsin’s Montee Ball.

Doak Walker Award Winner:

T.J. Yeldon, Alabama

This is one of the hardest awards to predict. I had Montee Ball as the runner-up last year, but the legendary Badger won the award despite a lot of losses in the supporting cast around him. I went with Yeldon this seasson for a variety of reasons. Alabama is the most high-profile program in the nation and Yeldon figures to be the featured player in its offense. The Crimson Tide run a ground-based offense and Yeldon will get a ton of touches as the lead running back. The program has been a factory for elite running backs, sending a number of special backs to the NFL in recent years.

Yeldon helped contribute to Alabama’s most recent National Championship run with an excellent debut season. The freshman occasionally outshined starter Eddie Lacy. Yeldon received only 175 carries, but still totaled 1,108 yards and 12 touchdowns. He also caught 11 passes for 131 yards and a score. While Lacy was a large downhill runner, Yeldon has some explosiveness. He ripped off a number of big gains in 2012 via his mismatch speed. Yeldon’s first-step quickness is phenomenal. He is now listed at 218 pounds at 6-foot-2, but didn’t look that heavy as a freshman. With Lacy in the NFL, Yeldon figures to be the workhorse of the Crimson Tide’s offense.

There are some that believe that the sophomore could be more talented than other recent Alabama running backs including Trent Richardson and Mark Ingram (both first-round picks). Some observers feel that Yeldon could turn out to be the best of the bunch.

If Yeldon can maintain his speed at a heavier weight, he could be the rare back who has the ability to rip off long touchdowns runs while also being big enough to pound the ball between the tackles. Two years ago, this award went to Alabama running back Trent Richardson, and I could see Yeldon having a similar season to Richardson’s tremendous 2011 campaign. I think Yeldon is the favorite to win the Doak Walker Award and is an early candidate for the Heisman Trophy.



Doak Walker Award Runner-Up:

De’Anthony Thomas, Oregon

This was a tough call between Thomas, Arizona’s Ka’Deem Carey and Baylor’s Lache Seatrunk. I went with Thomas for a few reasons. First, he’ll likely be the featured player in Oregon’s offense now that both LaMichael James and Kenjon Barner are in the NFL. The Ducks’ offense has been a point machine and Thomas has been a big part of that despite only getting limited touches. The junior could be poised for a huge season as the feature back – just like Barner and James produced during the past three years.

The 5-foot-9, 173-pound Thomas is perhaps the fastest player in college football. That should help him to take over as the featured play-maker in Oregon’s high-powered offense.

Thomas received only 55 carries in 2011 as a backup to James and Barner, but Thomas averaged 10.8 yards per carry and totaled 595 yards with seven touchdowns. The freshman was also used as a wide receiver. He hauled in 46 passes for 605 yards and nine touchdowns. Thomas got in on kick returns as well, averaging 27 yards per return and taking two back for touchdowns.

Thomas ran for 701 yards (7.6 average) and 11 touchdowns last year. He also caught 45 passes for 455 yards and five scores. The sophomore averaged 24 yards per kick return and 17 yards per punt return as well. He took back both a kick and a punt touchdowns.

The junior has the speed and play-making ability to produce a massive stat line in 2013. Thomas’ size and speed is similar to former West Virginia wide receiver Tavon Austin. The highlight-reel plays that Thomas provides should help him to get noticed for the 2014 NFL Draft and the postseason awards. The Ducks figure to be leaning on him to produce a lot of yards and points. Thus, it wouldn’t be at all surprising if Thomas wins the Doak Walker Award.



Doak Walker Award Dark Horse:

Todd Gurley, Georgia

Gurley ripped up Alabama’s defense in the SEC Championship last year, so it is a stretch to say that he is a dark horse for any award. The 6-foot-1, 232-pound Gurley is a stud back who has speed to go along with size and power. However, I could see him being a dark horse for a few reasons.

Georgia has a senior quarterback in Aaron Murray and the Bulldogs have always thrown the ball consistently. They also have another talented sophomore running back in Keith Marshall. With Marshall sharing carries, Gurley may not end up producing the stat line that other lead running backs will produce. He was only 34th in the nation in rushing in 2012 in large part because of the split work load with Marshall and Georgia’s use of Murray in the passing game.

If Georgia decides to make Gurley its featured player, he could end up beating out Yeldon and Thomas – among others. Gurley is in the running as the most talented ball-carrier in college football, so he is still a serious candidate to win the Doak Walker Award.

Honorable Mentions: Arizona running back Ka’Deem Carey, Baylor running back Lache Seastrunk, Florida running back Matt Jones, Oklahoma running back Damien Williams, Florida State running back James Wilder, Texas A&M running back Ben Malena, Mississippi State running back LaDarius Perkins, LSU running back Stephen Hill, Miami running back Duke Williams and Washington running back Bishop Sankey.











NFL Picks - Nov. 20


2025 NFL Mock Draft - Nov. 20


NFL Power Rankings - Nov. 19


Fantasy Football Rankings - Sept. 4