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Ole Miss true freshman running back Quinshon Judkins was named 1 of 10 semifinalists on Tuesday for the 2022 Doak Walker Award, which is given annually to the top running back in the country.
Judkins, a Midseason Freshman All-American, eclipsed 200 yards rushing for the 2nd time in 3 games on Saturday against Arkansas, piling up a career-high 214 yards on 24 carries and 1 touchdown. He has now scored a rushing touchdown in 9 straight games and has 6 multi-TD games in that span. On top of that, he leads the SEC in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns with 16.
Judkins was the only SEC running back named as a Doak Walker Award semifinalist.
Doak Walker Award (best running back in the college football) semifinalists:
Israel Abanikanda
Chase Brown
Zach Charbonnet
Blake Corum
Mohamed Ibrahim
Quinshon Judkins
DeWayne McBride
Kendra Miller
Bijan Robinson
Deuce Vaughn#CollegeFootball | @DoakWalkerAward— Oliver Hodgkinson (@ojhodgkinson) November 22, 2022
Judkins broke Ole Miss’ 73-year-old, single-season rushing record of 1,312 yards, previously held by Kayo Dottley in 1949.
Judkins has 1,382 rushing yards this season, tying Georgia’s Todd Gurley for 4th all-time among SEC freshmen. He enters the final week of the regular season 231 yards shy of the conference’s freshman rushing record. He will go for the record on Thursday night as the Rebels (8-3, 4-3 SEC) face Mississippi State (7-4, 3-4) in the Egg Bowl.
Judkins is the lead back in the No. 1 rushing offense among Power 5 conference teams. Judkins and Zach Evans have combined for 2,284 rushing yards this season, more than any other pair of teammates in the nation.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
