Vols RB Duo Each Named To Doak Walker Watchlist

Tennessee Volunteers running backs Jaylen Wright and Jabari Small were named to the preseason watch list for the nation’s top running back.

The Doak Walker Award, annually presented to the nation’s top running back, announced its list of 75 candidates on Wednesday. The list includes Jaylen Wright and Jabari Small from Tennessee, as the Vols join ten other schools with multiple backs on the list, including Colorado, the only school with three candidates. This watch list is a bit more important than some of the other awards, where the watch list is just that, a watch list. For the Doak Walker Award, candidacy is necessary to take home the award. However, each school can nominate a player as a candidate or a replacement for another candidate in October. 

Either way, a player must be on the candidacy list at some point. The candidates will be dwindled to 10 semifinalists by the PwC SMU Athletic Forum Board of Directors in mid-November before the Doak Walker Award National Selection Committee further trims it to three finalists and a winner. Texas’ Bijan Robinson took home the award last season before being drafted No. 8 overall by the Atlanta Falcons. Michigan’s Blake Corum is the only returning finalist from 2022, and he is on the list.

Wright and Small were far and away Tennessee’s top-two leading rushers last season, combining for over 1,600 yards on the ground at close to an even split. They both also reached double-digit touchdowns in 2022. Going into 2023, Wright and Small, a junior and senior, respectively, will have lofty expectations, and rightfully so after their impressive campaigns. They may be leaned on more in the passing game this year, with Hyatt and Tillman off to the league and Wright and Small going for just eight and 106 yards through the air apiece. Either way, the Vols should feel confident about their duo going into this season.

Tennessee RBs Jaylen Wright and Jabari Small celebrating during the Vols' win over Ball State in Knoxville, Tennessee, on September 1, 2022. (Photo by Brianna Paciorka of the News Sentinel)

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