Brown and Cain on the Doak Walker Watch List

By Kenny Varner Jr.
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Updated: July 15, 2020

Courtesy of GoPSU Athletics

Award recognizes nation’s top running back

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State running backs Journey Brown and Noah Cain have been named to the Doak Walker Award watch list, it was announced on Wednesday by The PwC SMU Athletic Forum. The Forum annually presents the award to the nation’s top college running back.

The PwC SMU Athletic Forum Board of Directors will name ten semifinalists in November, and three finalists, as voted on by the Doak Walker Award National Selection Committee, will be announced in November. The committee will cast a second vote in December to determine the recipient. The National Selection Committee consists of past recipients, former NFL All-Pro and college All-America running backs, media members and selected special representatives.

The recipient of the 2020 Doak Walker Award will be announced live on The Home Depot College Football Awards. The award is named for SMU’s three-time All-America running back Doak Walker. It is the only major collegiate award that requires all candidates to be in good academic standing and on schedule to graduate within one year of other students of the same classification.

Penn State has one Doak Walker winner (Larry Johnson, 2002) and three finalists (Ki-Jana Carter, 1994; Curtis Enis, 1997; Saquon Barkley, 2017).

Journey Brown Bio:

Averaged 6.89 yards per carry in 2019, ranking fifth at Penn State, while his 12 rushing touchdowns finished tied for 13^th.
Set a Penn State bowl record with 202 yards in the Cotton Bowl vs. Memphis (12/28/19), topping Saquon Barkley’s 194 yards in the 2017 Rose Bowl.
Selected to the AP All-Bowl Team, ESPN All-Bowl Team and Sports Illustrated All-Bowl Team.
Named All-Big Ten honorable mention by the media.
Earned the Tim Shaw Thrive Award, as a student-athlete who has overcome adversities and been an inspiration to fellow teammates, at the team’s awards banquet.
Appeared in 13 games, making 10 starts in 2019 and had at least one rushing touchdown in five straight games to end the season.
Had a career-long 85-yard run vs. Pitt (9/14/19), the second-longest non-scoring run in program history (Blair Thomas 92-yard run vs. Syracuse, 1986).
Finished third in the Big Ten and 27th in the FBS with 12 rushing touchdowns.
Ranked fifth in the Big Ten with 890 rushing yards.
Had eight rushes of 30-plus yards (3rd in Big Ten, 12th in FBS), four rushes of 40-plus (T-3rd, T-16th), two rushes of 50-plus (T-3rd, T-30th) and 10 rushes of 20-plus (4th, T-33rd).

Noah Cain Bio:

Set a Penn State freshman record in 2019 with eight rushing touchdowns, passing D.J. Dozier (7, 1983) and Saquon Barkley (7, 2015).
Tied for second in Penn State bowl history with two rushing touchdowns in the Cotton Bowl.
Appeared in 10 games, making one start.
Became the first PSU freshman with two rushing touchdowns in a season opener (vs. Idaho) since Stephfon Green vs. Coastal Carolina in 2008.
Became first Penn State freshman to run for 100 yards in back-to-back games since Saquon Barkley in 2015 (115 yards vs. Buffalo; 195 yards vs. Rutgers).
Rushed for 105 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries against Purdue (10/5/19), marking his first career 100-yard game.
Ran for 102 yards on a career-high 22 carries at Iowa (10/12/19) and scored on a 5-yard run.

Penn State on 2020 Watch Lists

Bednarik Award: Micah Parsons

Doak Walker Award: Journey Brown, Noah Cain

O’Brien Award: Sean Clifford

Lott IMPACT Trophy: Micah Parsons