Two USC Trojans Named to Doak Walker Award Watch List

Two new USC Trojans were named to the Doak Walker Award Watch List on Wednesday. The award began in 1990 and is given annually to the best running back in college football. This is the third year in a row two Trojans made the watch list for the Doak Walker Award. It’s Travis Dye and Austin Jones for USC this year. And big things are expected of the two new Trojans this season.

Dye comes to USC from Oregon. He is the most productive back in the conference heading into this season. In four years at Oregon, Dye rushed 521 times for 3,111 yards and 21 touchdowns. He also caught 83 passes for 869 yards and another eight touchdowns.

While quarterback Caleb Williams and wide receiver Jordan Addison made national headlines with their decisions to enter the transfer portal and subsequently enroll at USC. Dye’s transfer from Oregon to USC didn’t make the same kind of national news, but it was a major blow to the Ducks and boost to the Trojans.

Dye scored 18 touchdowns last season and will take over as the top running back for a USC program that lost 83% of its rushing attempts, 84% of its rushing yards and 81% of its rushing touchdowns from the 2021 season.

He will get plenty of touches as a runner and receiver in this offense. Playing for USC head coach Lincoln Riley and moving closer to home and his family were big reasons behind the move. It would not be surprising to see Dye toward the top of the Pac-12 rushing leaders this fall.

One of the people who might keep him from the top spot is Jones. The former Stanford back was another one of the 20 transfers brought in by Riley and USC this offseason. He doesn’t bring the production Dye does, but he is a back with Pac-12 experience who can excel as a runner and receiver.

They’ll both get a push from USC returner Darwin Barlow, who has enough talent and potential to take on a major role this season. Overall, the Trojans are in very good hands at the running back spot.

A USC Trojans has won the Doak Walker Award one time. Reggie Bush took it home following his outstanding 2005 season.

USC Opponents on the Watch List

Preseason Watch Lists for various awards can be extensive and this one is no different. In total, 74 running backs were named to the list. USC will face off against several of them this season.

The top two backs in the Pac-12 last season were arguably UCLA’s Zach Charbonnet and Utah’s Tavion Thomas. Both return and could battle it out with Dye to be named first-team All-Pac-12 running backs this season. They’ll all get a challenge from Arizona State’s Xazavian Valladay. That’s not a name familiar to Pac-12 fans, but it likely will be shortly. The Wyoming transfer put up two 1,000-yard seasons for the Cowboys and heads to Tempe with 3,858 total yards and 21 touchdowns in his four-year career.

USC will get Fresno State’s Jordan Mims and Stanford’s E.J. Smith in two of its first three games.

Oregon State always brings a solid running game and Deshaun Fenwick is likely to take the lead role there. He rushed for 448 yards last season in his first year after transferring from South Carolina.

Cal’s Damien Moore will have a much bigger role with Chris Brooks off to BYU. The same goes for Alex Fontenot at Colorado with Jarek Broussard transferring to MIchigan State.

And Notre Dame has some questions at running back with Kyren Williams off to the NFL and the Los Angeles Rams. Returner Chris Tyree rushed for 222 yards last season. The Irish hope he is an answer in the backfield.