BOISE, Idaho — Boise State junior Ashton Jeanty has been named one of 10 semifinalists for the 2024 Doak Walker Award. The PwC SMU Athletic Forum announced the list of semifinalists on Tuesday.
Annually, the Doak Walker award goes to the best running back in college football. Ashton Jeanty has made his case for the award this season, ranking first in the country in nearly every rushing category. The running back from Texas leads the country in rushing attempts, rushing yards, touchdowns, yards after contact and missed tackles forced. Boise State says Jeanty's missed tackles forced numbers and yards after contact are the highest single season totals since 2014.
Jeanty also set Boise State's new single season rushing record on Saturday totaling 1,893 rushing yards on the season so far. Keep in mind, the team captain still has two games left in the regular season and the possibility of a Mountain West Championship and games in the College Football Playoff. Jay Ajayi, Super Bowl LII champion, set the prior record in 2014 by rushing for 1,823 yards and bringing Boise State their third Fiesta Bowl win. Jeanty also is currently tied for the program record of 26 touchdowns with Brock Forsey.
Here is a full list of the 2024 Doak Walker Award semifinalists:
- Tahj Brooks, Texas Tech
- DJ Giddens, Kansas State
- Omarion Hampton, North Carolina
- RJ Harvey, UCF
- Makhi Hughes, Tulane
- Ashton Jeanty, Boise State
- Kaleb Johnson, Iowa
- Dylan Sampson, Tennessee
- Cam Skattebo, Arizona State
- Brashard Smith, SMU
In 2023, Ollie Gordon II from Oklahoma State won the award when he finished the season rushing for 1,732 yards on 285 carries. Ashton Jeanty already has more yards on fewer carries than Gordon's award-winning season, rushing for 1,893 yards on 256 carries. Going into week 13 of the season, Jeanty has at least 471 more rushing yards on the season than any other running back.
