Knight Named Semifinalist For Doak Walker Award
November 19, 2003 | Football
Nov. 19, 2003
Boston College's Derrick Knight has been named one of eight semifinalists for the 2003 Doak Walker Award, which annually honors the top running back in college football. The SMU Athletic Forum Board of Directors made the announcement Wednesday afternoon.
In addition to Knight, the semifinalists include Steven Jackson, Oregon State; Kevin Jones, Virginia Tech; Chris Perry, Michigan; Darren Sproles, Kansas State; Michael Turner, Northern Illinois; Shaud Williams, Alabama, and Quincy Wilson, Alabama.
"We are very fortunate to have such a strong group of running backs as semifinalists for the Doak Walker Award," said Randall Goss, Chairman of the SMU Athletic Forum Board of Directors, "and also we congratulate all of the candidates who were nominated by their schools."
Knight leads the Big East and is fifth in the nation in rushing, averaging 127.5 yards per game. He has rushed for more than 1,000 yards for a second consecutive year and rushed for a career-high 224 yards this past Saturday at Rutgers. With 3,406 career yards, he is 191 shy of BC all-time rushing leader Mike Cloud.
The 144 members of the Doak Walker Award National Selection Committee will cast their votes this week to determine the 2003 recipient. On Monday, December 1, three finalists will be named, and, on Thursday, December 11, the recipient of the 2003 Doak Walker Award will be announced live on ESPN's The Home Depot College Football Awards.
The award will be presented at the 2003 Doak Walker Award Presentation Banquet in Dallas on Thursday, February 12, 2004. Felix "Doc" Blanchard and Glenn Davis, former Army star running backs, were jointly named the recipients of the 2003 PricewaterhouseCoopers Doak Walker Legends Award and will also be honored at the banquet.
