Doak Walker Award: Winners by Year 1990–2025

College football's best running back, presented since 1990 by the Doak Walker Foundation and named for SMU's 1948 Heisman winner.

All Doak Walker Award Winners by Year

Season	Winner	School
2025	Jeremiyah Love	Notre Dame
2024	Ashton Jeanty	Boise State
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	Bam Morris	Texas Tech
1992	Garrison Hearst	Georgia
1991	Trevor Cobb	Rice
1990	Greg Lewis	Washington

18 of 36 winners have a player page here: college data starts in 2011, and winners who never played in the NFL from 2016 on are not in our data. Source: Wikipedia, Doak Walker Award.

All awards and honors

Honors are compiled from public award and league lists; the list text comes from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). A name links to a player page when we have that player in our data and the match is certain; winners from before our data have no link. See an error? Tell us.

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