Oregon's Byron Cardwell named to Doak Walker watch list

This season, Oregon’s offense is going to lean on several sophomores who shone as true freshmen during the 2021 campaign. Key among them will be running back Byron Cardwell, who is already receiving plenty of preseason hype.

The Doak Walker Award, given annually to the top running back in the nation, released its preseason watch list on Wednesday and Cardwell made the cut. The Oregon sophomore is one of 74 running backs who were named to the list.

Last season, Cardwell ran for 417 yards and three touchdowns on 61 carries while playing in all 14 games. He began the year buried on the depth chart, but stepped into the No. 2 running back role in Week 6 after starter CJ Verdell went down with a season-ending injury.

While serving as Travis Dye’s backup, Cardwell delivered several pivotal performances. He was named the Pac-12 offensive freshman of the week following Oregon’s win over Washington State During that game, he ran for 98 yards and two touchdowns on just nine carries.

With Verdell and Dye both having departed the program, Cardwell figures to take over the starting job. He will compete for reps with Sean Dollars, Noah Whittington, and Mar’keise Irving.

2022 Doak Walker Watch List

Devon Achane (Jr.), Texas A&M
Braelon Allen (So.), Wisconsin
Rasheen Ali (So.), Marshall
Ronald Awatt (Sr.), UTEP
Tank Bigsby (Jr.), Auburn
Isaiah Bowser (Sr.), UCF
British Brooks (Sr.), North Carolina
Jarek Broussard (Sr.), Michigan State
Antario Brown (So.), Northern Illinois
Chase Brown (Jr.), Illinois
Jermaine Brown (Jr.), UAB
Byron Cardwell (So.), Oregon
Nate Carter (So.), UCONN
Zach Charbonnet (Sr.), UCLA
Blake Corum (Jr.), Michigan
Travis Dye (Sr.), USC
Justice Ellison (So.), Wake Forest
Samson Evans (Jr.), Eastern Michigan
Deshaun Fenwick (Jr.), Oregon State
Alex Fontenot (Sr.), Colorado
Pat Garwo (Jr.), Boston College
Frank Gore, Jr. (So.), Southern Miss
Eric Gray (Sr.), Oklahoma
Gerald Green (Jr.), Georgia Southern
Tucker Gregg (Sr.), Georgia State
Hassan Hall (Sr.), Georgia Tech
Deion Hankins (So.), UTEP
TreVeyon Henderson (So.), Ohio State
George Holani (Jr.), Boise State
Evan Hull (Sr.), Northwestern
Mohamed Ibrahim (Sr.), Minnesota
Dillon Johnson (Jr.), Mississippi State
Roschon Johnson (Sr.), Texas
Johnnie Lang, Jr. (Sr.), Arkansas State
Keyvone Lee (So.), Penn State
Joquavious Marks (Jr.), Mississippi State
DeWayne McBride (Jr.), UAB

Chez Mellusi (Sr.), Wisconsin
Kendre Miller (Jr.), TCU
Jordan Mims (Sr.), Fresno State
Keaton Mitchell (So.), East Carolina
Damien Moore (Jr.), Cal
Devin Neal (So.), Kansas
Lew Nichols, III (So.), Central Michigan
Nate Noel (So.), App State
Nathaniel Peat (Sr.), Missouri
Camerun Peoples (Jr.), App State
Dominic Richardson (Jr.), Oklahoma State
Johnny Richardson (Jr.), UCF
Bijan Robinson (Jr.), Texas
Raheim Sanders (So.), Arkansas
Will Shipley (So.), Clemson
Shaun Shivers (Sr.), Indiana
Jabari Small (Jr.), Tennessee
Chris Smith (Jr.), Louisiana
Dontae Smith (Jr.), Georgia Tech
E.J. Smith (Jr.), Stanford
Tyjae Spears (So.), Tulane
Titus Swen (Jr.), Wyoming
Tavion Thomas (Jr.), Utah
Sean Tucker (So.), Syracuse
Calvin Tyler, Jr. (Sr.), Utah State
Sean Tyler (Jr.), Western Michigan
Chris Tyree (Jr.), Notre Dame
Xazavian Valladay (Sr.), Arizona State
Deuce Vaughn (Jr.), Kansas State
Kimani Vidal (So.), Troy
Blake Watson (Jr.), Old Dominion
Treshaun Ward (So.), Florida State
Harrison Waylee (So.), Northern Illinois
Jalen White (Jr.), Georgia Southern
Jamyest Williams (Sr.), Georgia State
Nay’Quan Wright (Jr.), Florida