The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Robinson selected to Doak Walker Award watch list
07.21.2021 | Football
Sophomore RB Bijan Robinson was chosen to the watch list for the award honoring the nation’s top college running back.
Austin – Texas sophomore RB Bijan Robinson was named to the Doak Walker Award watch list on Wednesday. Presented annually by the PwC SMU Athletic Forum, the award honors the nation's top college running back.
Robinson looks to join a prestigious trio of Longhorns who have won the Doak Walker Award, which began in 1990. Ricky Williams was a two-time winner, bringing home the trophy in 1997 and 1998, while Cedric Benson collected it in 2004, and D'Onta Foreman won the honor in 2016. Texas' four Doak Walker Award trophies are the second-most by an FBS school all time. (Wisconsin, 5).
Robinson, who was also named to the Maxwell Award watch list this week, appeared in nine games and made six-straight starts to close out his first season of college football in 2020. He led the Longhorns with 703 rushing yards on 86 carries (8.2 ypc) and scored four touchdowns. He was also the team's fifth-leading receiver with 15 catches for 196 yards and two more touchdowns. He finished the season as the 11th UT freshman to rush for at least 700 yards and broke the Texas single-season record for yards per rush average at 8.2, topping James Saxton's mark of 7.9 during the 1961 season. He joined Cedric Benson (twice, 2001) and Adrian Walker (twice, 1989) as the only Longhorns to rush for 150-plus yards on multiple occasions during their freshman season.
A native of Tucson, Ariz., Robinson saved his best for last, earning Offensive MVP honors of the Alamo Bowl when he carried the ball 10 times for 183 yards (18.3 avg) and one touchdown, and caught two passes for 37 yards and two touchdowns. His 183 rushing yards were the most ever by a UT freshman in a bowl game, and the fourth-most by a Longhorn, regardless of class, in a bowl game all-time. It was the sixth-best rushing game in terms of yardage by a freshman in school history overall.
The Alamo Bowl marked the third 100-yard rushing game of Robinson's true freshman season, the third-most in school history. Cedric Benson (5 in 2001), Earl Campbell (4 in 1974), Ricky Williams (3 in 1995), Vince Young (3 in 2003), Jamaal Charles (3 in 2005) and Malcolm Brown (3 in 2011) are the only other Longhorns to record at least three 100-yard games as freshmen.
Combined with his 172-yard performance against Kansas State, Robinson totaled 355 yards and four touchdowns on 19 carries (18.7 ypc) in the final two games of the season. While in the last four, he amassed 522 yards and four touchdowns on 47 carries (11.1 ypc) with eight receptions for 129 yards and two touchdowns.
The PwC SMU Athletic Forum Board of Directors will name 10 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 2020 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.
