| Doak Walker Award | |
| Description: | The nation's top college football running back |
| Presenter: | SMU |
| Country: | United States |
| Year: | 1990 |
| Holder: | Ollie Gordon II, Oklahoma State |
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.
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.
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.
| Made at least one Pro Bowl during NFL career | ||||||
| Year | Winner | School | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | ||||
| 1991 | ||||
| 1992 | ||||
| 1993 | ||||
| 1994 | ||||
| 1995 | ||||
| 1996 | Texas Tech (2) | |||
| 1997 | ||||
| 1998 | Texas (2) | |||
| 1999 | [2] | |||
| 2000 | [3] | |||
| 2001 | ||||
| 2002 | ||||
| 2003 | ||||
| 2004 | Texas (3) | |||
| 2005 | ||||
| 2006 | [4] | |||
| 2007 | Arkansas (2) | |||
| 2008 | [5] | |||
| 2009 | [6] | |||
| 2010 | [7] | |||
| 2011 | [8] | |||
| 2012 | Wisconsin (2) | [9] | ||
| 2013 | [10] | |||
| 2014 | Wisconsin (3) | [11] | ||
| 2015 | Alabama (2) | [12] | ||
| 2016 | Texas (4) | |||
| 2017 | Stanford (2) | |||
| 2018 | Wisconsin (4) | [13] | ||
| 2019 | Wisconsin (5) | |||
| 2020 | Alabama (3) | [14] | ||
| 2021 | ||||
| 2022 | Texas (5) | |||
| 2023 | Ollie Gordon II | Oklahoma State |