Bijan Robinson remains in select company with UT’s Doak Walker Award winners
Winning the Doak Walker Award has become a habit in Austin. Texas junior running back and Tucson (Ariz.) Salpointe Catholic product Bijan Robinson won the prestigious award tonight, during the College Football Awards on ESPN.
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The honor, given to the nation’s top running back each year, has been seen throughout the Texas Longhorns Hall of Fame inside the north end zone at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium.
Robinson becomes the fourth Longhorn to win the award along with Ricky Williams (1997, 1998), Cedric Benson (2004), and D’Onta Foreman (2016) while on the Forty Acres.
1997 Ricky Williams
Stats: 1,823 rushing yards, 25 touchdowns on 279 carries, 150 receiving yards on 20 receptions
Summary: Williams moved from fullback to running back full time before his junior year and produced the single-season rushing mark, eclipsing Earl Campbell’s 20-year record. Williams finished fifth in the Heisman voting and consensus All-American leading the nation in rushing (172.1 yards per game) and scoring (13.8 points per game).
1998 Ricky Williams
Stats: 2,124 rushing yards, 28 touchdowns, 262 receiving yards, one touchdown on 24 receptions
Summary: Williams was the eighth player in NCAA history to rush for 2,000 yards in a season en route to breaking Tony Dorsett’s all-time rushing mark. He claimed the Maxwell Award, Walter Camp Award, and Sporting News’ Player of the Year honor. Williams finished first in the Heisman Trophy voting, joining Earl Campbell as the only winners in school history.
2004 Cedric Benson
Stats: 1,835 rushing yards, 19 touchdowns on 326 carries, 179 receiving yards, one touchdown on 22 receptions
Summary: Benson saved his best for last capping a fantastic career in the burnt orange. In addition to the Doak Walker Award, Benson was named consensus All-American and all-Big 12 first team. Four months later, he was the fourth pick selected overall in the 2005 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears.
2016 D’Onta Foreman
Stats: 2,028 rushing yards, 15 touchdowns on 323 carries, 75 receiving yards on seven receptions.
Summary: In addition to the Doak Walker Award as the nation’s top running back, Foreman was the recipient of the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award in recognition of his 2016 season.
2022 Bijan Robinson
Stats: 1, 580 rushing yards, 18 touchdowns on 258 carries, 314 receiving yards, two touchdowns on 19 receptions.
Summary: Robinson was the Big 12’s rushing, scoring, and all-purpose yardage leader in 2022. He is the only player in the country with over 1,500 rushing and 300 receiving yards. Robinson is also a consensus All-American and finished fourth all-time on the Longhorns rushing list.
