Oklahoma football: Doak Walker watch list taps two Sooner RBs

Two more Oklahoma football players joined the national award watch-list parade on Wednesday.

The Sooners’ top two running backs coming into the 2021 season are preseason candidates for the Doak Walker Award, presented annually to the most outstanding running back in college football.

Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley commented at Big 12 Media Days last week that the Sooners had two starting running backs this season, and the one-two punch of redshirt junior Kennedy Brooks and junior transfer Eric Gray have been announced as candidates for the highest national honor directed specifically at a running back.

The fact that two Oklahoma running backs are being considered for this award is noteworthy. No Oklahoma running back has won this award, which was first presented in 1990. And the Sooners have had some truly outstanding running backs over that time.

Brooks returns to the Oklahoma lineup this season after opting out in 2020 because of COVID-19 concerns. His freshman and sophomore seasons, however, he gained over 1,000 rushing yards both years and averaged 7.5 yards per carry.

In 24 games for the Tennessee Volunteers, covering the 2019 and 2020 seasons, Gray totaled  1,311 yards rushing and eight touchdowns. What makes him such a valuable addition to Riley’s offense this season is his adept pass-catching ability. The past two seasons he caught 43 passes at Tennessee for 369 yards and three were for touchdowns.

The one thing that could work against either Brooks or Gray having the kind of individual season that is worthy of finalist consideration for the Doak Walker Award is the running back rotation that Riley and running backs coach DeMarco Murray employ in the 2021 season. It is likely that the top two Sooner running backs will split time on the OU backfield, and redshirt sophomore Marcus Major is expected to be part of that mix, as well.