Who will be the best tailback in college football this fall? You can get a good idea by looking at the Doak Walker Award watch list which was released yesterday.
Illinois Fighting Illini senior Jason Ford and Notre Dame Fighting Irish junior Cierre Wood were among the 51 players named to the watch list on Friday.
Ford is one of seven Big Ten running backs on the Walker watch list, alongside Edwin Baker (Michigan State Spartans), Montee Ball (Wisconsin Badgers), Duane Bennett (Minnesota Golden Gophers), Rex Burkhead (Nebraska Cornhuskers), Marcus Coker (Iowa Hawkeyes) and James White (Wisconsin Badgers).
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The Doak Walker Award is given to the nation’s top running back. Oregon’s LaMichael James won the award last season. Ford ran for 480 yards and 7 TDs on 99 carries for Illinois in 2010. He’s expected to be Illinois’ primary running back this season with Mikel Leshoure skipping his senior season to enter the NFL. he was taken in the second round by the Detroit Lions. Ford is aiming to become the third Illini to rush for over 1,000 yards in the last five years, as Mikel Leshoure (1,697) and Rashard Mendenhall (1,681) accomplished the feat in 2010 and 2007, respectively. Ford ran for 480 yards and seven touchdowns on 99 carries, an average of 4.8 yards per carry, in 2010. He enters the 2011 season with 1,362 career rushing yards, which ranks 24th in school history, and 19 career rushing touchdowns.
Wood ran for 603 yards and 3 TDs on 119 carries for ND last season. He became Notre Dame’s starting tailback in 2010 when Armando Allen went down with a season-ending injury in week six.
Ten semifinalists for the Doak Walker Award will be announced on Nov. 11, with the winner being named live on ESPN on Dec. 8. The Davey O’Brien Award will name 16 semifinalists on Oct. 24, with three finalists being named on Nov. 21. The winner also will be named on The Home Depot College Football Awards show on Dec. 8.
Alvester Alexander (Jr.), Wyoming
Victor Anderson (Sr.), Louisville
Keola Antolin (Sr.), Arizona
Edwin Baker (Jr.), Michigan State
Montee Ball (Jr.), Wisconsin
Vick Ballard (Sr.), Mississippi State
Bryce Beall (Sr.), Houston
Duane Bennett (Sr.), Minnesota
Brandon Bolden (Sr.), Ole Miss
Rex Burkhead (Jr.), Nebraska
Asher Clark (Sr.), Air Force
Marcus Coker (So.), Iowa
Lennon Creer (Sr.), Louisiana Tech
Orleans Darkwa (So.), Tulane
Knile Davis (Jr.), Arkansas
Jeff Demps (Sr.), Florida
JJ Di Luigi (Sr.), BYU
Lance Dunbar (Sr.), North Texas
Michael Dyer (So.), Auburn
Andre Ellington (Jr.), Clemson
Jason Ford (Sr.), Illinois
Johnathan Franklin (Jr.), UCLA
Ray Graham (Jr.), Pittsburgh
Cyrus Gray (Sr.), Texas A&M
Montel Harris (Sr.), Boston College
Ronnie Hillman (So.), San Diego State
LaMichael James (Jr.), Oregon
Marcus Lattimore (So.), South Carolina
Zach Line (Jr.), SMU
Cameron Marshall (Jr.), Arizona State
Doug Martin (Sr.), Boise State
Sam McGuffie (Jr.), Rice
Davin Meggett (Sr.), Maryland
Christine Michael (Jr.), Texas A&M
Lamar Miller (So.), Miami
Alfred Morris (Sr.), Florida Atlantic
Isaiah Pead (Sr.), Cincinnati
Chris Polk (Jr.), Washington
Tauren Poole (Sr.), Tennessee
Bobby Rainey (Sr.), Western Kentucky
Trent Richardson (Jr.), Alabama
Pat Shed (Sr.), UAB
Rodney Stewart (Sr.), Colorado
Stepfan Taylor (Jr.), Stanford
Alexander Teich (Sr.), Navy
Adonis Thomas (Sr.), Toledo
Matthew Tucker (Jr.), TCU
Robert Turbin (Jr.), Utah State
Ed Wesley (Jr.), TCU
James White (So.), Wisconsin
David Wilson (Jr.), Virginia Tech
Cierre Wood (Jr.), Notre Dame
Paul M. Banks is CEO of The Sports Bank.net. He’s also a regular contributor to Chicago Now, Walter Football.com, Yardbarker, and Fox Sports You can follow him on Twitter
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