We received another college football preseason watch list on Monday, with the release from the folks in charge of the Doak Walker Award. The venerable award has been around since 1990 and is awarded to the top running back in college football annually. It is named after former SMU running back Doak Walker and is designed by artist Blair Buswell.
Ohio State has had one or more players on almost every preseason watch list released, and that's the case here as well, with Bo Jackson among those appearing.
Jackson, an Ohio native from Villa Angela-Saint Joseph High School in Cleveland, was arguably the best freshman back in the country last year. He led all freshman running backs with 1,090 yards. He carried the ball 179 times (6.1 avg.) and scored six touchdowns. He's just the fifth Ohio State running back to log over 1,000 yards as a freshman, and that was after only winning the starting job almost midway through the season.
Jackson is expected to be the starter this year and has drawn rave reviews from the coaching staff about his development and ability to make more explosive plays in the second level. He should be even better this year and continue the tailback tradition in Columbus.
.@BoJackson2025 has been named a Doak Walker Award preseason candidate 🌰 pic.twitter.com/C838lhp8jK
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) August 18, 2026
Despite all the great running backs who have worn the scarlet and gray since the Doak Walker has been around, only one Ohio State running back has taken home the award. The magical year Eddie George had in 1995 resulted in a trophy case that included the Doak Walker bronze statue alongside the other, more famous one.
As is the case with a lot of the other college football postseason awards, the winner of the Doak Walker will be announced during ESPN's Home Depot College Football Awards Show on December 11.
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This article originally appeared on Buckeyes Wire: Ohio State running back named to Doak Walker preseason watch list