Louisville RB duo Isaac Brown and Duke Watson named Doak Walker Award candidates
On Tuesday, University of Louisville running backs Duke Watson and Isaac Brown were named candidates for the 2025 Doak Walker Award.
The award is given to the nation’s most outstanding college running back. Seventeen players from the Atlantic Coast Conference were named, and three of the league’s programs had more than one running back named to the list — Boston College, Syracuse, and, of course, Louisville.
Brown and Watson capped off fantastic freshmen seasons, heading into this fall, look to be one of the best running back duos in all of college football. Watson soared through the final four games of the regular season, rushing for 100 yards twice. The Forsyth, Georgia, product led the nation in yards per carry with 8.9. The duo combined for 1,770 yards and 18 touchdowns in 2024.
Watson’s counterpart, the 5-foot-9 Brown, broke the former Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson’s U of L freshman rushing record and was named to the ACC All-Rookie team and was the ACC Offensive Rookie of the Year. He was named to several watch lists this offseason, including the Walter Camp Player of the Year Watch List.
Cardinals running backs coach Chris Barclay has done a fantastic job with this running back room since taking it over, and Louisville’s two-headed monster is poised to be an elite backfield.
The 2025 Doak Walker Award will be announced on December 12 at The Home Depot College Football Award Show.
From the ACC: “The PwC SMU Athletic Forum Board of Directors will name 10 semifinalists and then three finalists, as voted on by the Doak Walker Award National Selection Committee, in November. The committee will cast a second vote in December to determine the recipient. The National Selection Committee comprises past recipients, former NFL All-Pro and college All-America running backs, media members, and selected special representatives. The recipient of the 2025 Doak Walker Award will be announced live on The Home Depot College Football Awards on December 12, 2025….The preseason list features four of the top 10 returning rushers in the league from last season: Louisville’s Isaac Brown (1,173 yards), Wake Forest’s Demond Claiborne (1,049), Pitt’s Desmond Reid (962) and Georgia Tech’s Jamal Haynes (944). Several additional ACC running backs expected to take on more prominent roles in their respective offenses this fall were also recognized.”
