Ohio State Running Backs Left Off Doak Walker Award Watch List

Teague, other running backs, not among the 82 players named to the watch list on Wednesday.

Although he was the Big Ten’s fifth-leading rusher in terms of yards per game last season while splitting time with eventual third-round draft pick Trey Sermon, Ohio State junior running back Master Teague was not among the 82 players named to the watch list for the Doak Walker Award on Wednesday morning.

The @DoakWalkerAward is presented to the nation's top running back. Today, we have a peak at the top returning running backs with the award's preseason watch list. https://t.co/1RGBLmfrru pic.twitter.com/0vMeNa9naC

— NCFAA (@ncfaa) July 21, 2021

Teague, a former four-star prospect from Murfreesboro (Tenn.) Blackman, carried the ball 102 times for 491 yards (81.8 per game) and eight touchdowns last fall, including two scores in the national championship game.

He’s expected to play a key role in the offense again this season but will have to hold off the likes of sophomore Marcus Crowley, redshirt freshman Miyan Williams and highly touted freshmen TreVeyon Henderson and Evan Pryor, who will all be looking for carries of their own.

Named for former SMU running back Doak Walker, the award is presented annually to college football’s best running back. It is the only major award that requires candidates to be in good academic standing and on schedule to graduate.

Former Ohio State running back Eddie George is the only Buckeye to win the award in its 31-year history, though J.K. Dobbins was a finalist in 2019.

Of course, a big season from Teague or any of the other running backs, for that matter, will them in the conversation to be a semifinalist in early November. Three finalists will be announced later that month, with the winner to be announced during the Home Depot College Football Awards in December.

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