Doak Walker Award: Odds, winners, trophy, when is it awarded?

The Doak Walker Award is given to the best running back in college football each season.

It is named after legendary SMU running back Doak Walker, who won the Heisman Trophy for college football's best overall player in 1948.

The Doak Walker Award doesn't carry the prestige of the Heisman, but since that trophy has only been given to two RBs since 2000, the award given to the nation's top running back has taken on more importance for players at that position.

This award was first given out in 1990, and plenty of its winners have gone on to have glittering NFL careers. Now that players have more incentive to stay in college thanks to NIL payments, we could see more competition than ever for this trophy.

Let's get into the odds to win the Doak Walker Award in 2024.

Doak Walker Award odds

Ollie Gordon II	+300
Donovan Edwards	+700
Omarion Hampton	+750
Quinshon Judkins	+850
TreVeyon Henderson	+1000
Trever Etienne	+1000
Ashton Jeanty	+1200
Tahj Brooks	+1800

Oklahoma State RB Ollie Gordon II, the reigning Doak Walker Award winner after posting 1,732 rushing yards and 21 rushing touchdowns last season, is the favorite to repeat as the winner in 2024.

Gordon would join Ricky Williams, Darren McFadden and Jonathan Taylor as players to win this award twice. Given Oklahoma State's returning starting QB Alan Bowman posted a 15-14 TD-INT ratio last season, Gordon could be relied upon to carry a heavy workload yet again.

Second in the market is Donovan Edwards of the Michigan Wolverines. His workload from 2022 decreased in 2023 as he played behind a healthy star in Blake Corum, but with Corum now in the NFL, Edwards will be the feature back for the reigning champions.

Edwards gained 991 yards and scored seven TDs on the ground in 2022, and he gained 497 rushing yards and scored five times while playing behind Corum last season.

After a breakout season in 2023, North Carolina RB Omarion Hampton is third in the Doak Walker Award market. He gained 1,504 rushing yards with a 5.9 yards per carry average, as well as scoring 15 rushing TDs in his sophomore season.

Quinshon Judkins, who went from Ole Miss to Ohio State as the ninth-ranked transfer this offseason, is fourth in the odds. Judkins has two 1,000-yard, 15-touchdown seasons under his belt, but he'll be joined in the Buckeyes backfield by another talented back.

Tied for fifth in the odds is Judkins' new teammate, TreVeyon Henderson. Henderson was Ohio State's feature back last season and posted 926 yards on 5.9 yards per carry with 11 TDs, and time will tell if his team focuses more on a run-first approach as a result of having two superstar tailbacks.

Trevor Etienne is tied with Henderson in the market, and he joined Georgia from Florida as the 35th-ranked transfer this offseason. Etienne gained more than 700 rushing yards in each of his first two collegiate seasons, he has 14 career rushing TDs, and he stands to benefit from playing behind a better offensive line in Georgia.

Further back in the odds between 12/1 and 25/1 are Boise State's Ashton Jeanty, Tahj Brooks of Texas Tech, Devin Neal of Kansas, California's Jaydn Ott, Miami's Damien Martinez, Oregon's Jordan James, and Clemson's Phil Mafah.

Doak Walker Award past winners

Year	Player	College
2023	Ollie Gordon II	Oklahoma State
2022	Bijan Robinson	Texas
2021	Kenneth Walker III	Michigan State
2020	Najee Harris	Alabama
2019	Jonathan Taylor	Wisconsin
2018	Jonathan Taylor	Wisconsin
2017	Bryce Love	Stanford
2016	D'Onta Foreman	Texas
2015	Derrick Henry	Alabama
2014	Melvin Gordon	Wisconsin
2013	Andre Williams	Boston College
2012	Montee Ball	Wisconsin
2011	Trent Richardson	Alabama
2010	LaMichael James	Oregon
2009	Toby Gerhart	Stanford
2008	Shonn Greene	Iowa
2007	Darren McFadden	Arkansas
2006	Darren McFadden	Arkansas
2005	Reggie Bush	USC
2004	Cedric Benson	Texas
2003	Chris Perry	Michigan
2002	Larry Johnson	Penn State
2001	Luke Staley	BYU
2000	LaDainian Tomlinson	TCU
1999	Ron Dayne	Wisconsin
1998	Ricky Williams	Texas
1997	Ricky Williams	Texas
1996	Byron Hanspard	Texas Tech
1995	Eddie George	Ohio State
1994	Rashaan Salaam	Colorado
1993	Byron "Bam" Morris	Texas Tech
1992	Garrison Hearst	Georgia
1991	Trevor Cobb	Rice
1990	Greg Lewis	Washington

Doak Walker Award trophy

The Doak Walker Award is bronze and features a sculpture of Doak Walker atop a podium that features a plaque with the winner's name on it.

Doak Walker Award voting

A committee of sportswriters, TV commentators, analysts, radio personalities, and former All-America and All-Pro players vote on the running back to win the Doak Walker Award from a list of semifinalists.

The semifinalists are selected by the SMU Athletic Forum Board of Directors, which is responsible for athletics at Walker's alma mater.

When is the Doak Walker Award winner announced?

The award winner is announced at the end of the college football regular season in December. The winner is honored at the Doak Walker Award Presentation Banquet in Dallas, Texas every February.

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Odds displayed within this article were correct at the time of writing and are subject to change.