Ohio State Running Back J.K. Dobbins Named Semifinalist for Doak Walker Award

The junior running back from Ohio State was named Thursday as one of 10 semifinalists for the Doak Walker Award, which honors college football's best running back.

The other semifinalists for the award are Western Michigan's LeVante Bellamy, Boston College's A.J. Dillon, LSU's Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Clemson's Travis Etienne, Memphis' Kenneth Gainwell, Oklahoma State's Chuba Hubbard, SMU's Xavier Jones, Utah's Zack Moss and Wisconsin's Jonathan Taylor.

Dobbins has rushed for 1,289 yards and 13 touchdowns on 189 carries while he has also added 14 catches for 140 yards and two additional touchdowns this season. His 128.9 rushing yards per game rank fourth in the Football Bowl Subdivision behind only Hubbard, Taylor and Dillon, while his 7.04 rushing yards per carry are the second-most among all FBS running back with at least 100 carries this season, behind only Etienne.

If Dobbins was playing four quarters of football on a weekly basis, his numbers could be even better. Ohio State coach Ryan Day has made that point on multiple occasions in the past week while expressing that he believes Dobbins belongs in the conversation for the Heisman Trophy and other national awards.

Ohio State running backs coach Tony Alford, however, said Dobbins is unselfish and understands that the Buckeyes have bigger goals than individual awards – which often means taking him out of the game early when they have a big lead in order to keep him fresh for the homestretch of the season and give younger running backs opportunities to play.

“We're not out here chasing records. He'll be the first to tell you, that's not what we're doing. We're trying to go win a championship,” Alford said Thursday on Ohio State's coaches' radio show.

Dobbins, a native of La Grange, Texas, was also named Thursday as one of 11 semifinalists for the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award, which honors the top college football player from the state of Texas.