Fontenot On Doak Walker Award Watch List

BOULDER—Junior Alex Fontenot was one of 76 players on the preseason watch list for the Doak Walker Award, the PwC SMU Athletic Forum announced Wednesday. The award is presented to the nation's top running back.

Fontenot is coming off a solid sophomore season that was him rush 185 times for 874 yards and three touchdowns while catching 27 passes for 122 yards. Entering his junior season, Fontenot ranks 61st in career rushing yards at CU with 917 (196 carries, six touchdowns).

He earned the team's Most Improved Offensive Player award last season and was named to the NFF/Colorado Chapter's All-Colorado second team. He had three 100-yard games on the season and opened the year with 19 carries for 125 yards and three touchdowns against Colorado State, earning the second-most touchdowns in a starting debut and the 13th most yards at CU.

He also had 100-yard games at Washington State (11-105) and against Washington (24-105, one touchdown). In the game against Washington, he was at his best in the game's final drive. He ran the ball on the last five plays of the game, picking up 26 yards and two first downs as CU was able to run out the final 5:09 of the game to secure the win.

Fontenot is the second CU player to earn watch list recognition, joining senior Nate Landman, who was named to the Chuck Bednarik Award watch list on Monday. Fontenot was also named preseason third-team All-Pac-12 by both Athlon and Phil Steele.

Fontenot is the first CU back to be on the watch list since Phillip Lindsay in 2016 and '17. Lindsay was a semifinalist in 2017. Rashaan Salaam won the award in 1994 after becoming the fourth running back in college football history to hit the 2,000-yard mark, also winning the Heisman Trophy and Walker Camp Awards that year. Chris Brown was the runner-up for the award in 2002 when he ran for 1,744 yards before missing the final two games of the season, leading the nation for the six weeks prior to his injury and finished third.

The National College Football Awards Association is on the third day of two weeks of watch list announcements. The remaining schedule is as follows: Biletnikoff Award (July 16), John Mackey Award (July 17), Butkus Award (July 20), Jim Thorpe Award (July 20), Bronko Nagurski Trophy (July 21), Outland Trophy (July 21), Lou Groza Award (July 22), Ray Guy Award (July 22), Paul Hornung Award (July 23), Wuerffel Trophy (July 23) and the Maxwell Award (July 24).

Colorado University Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Alex Fontenot

Nate Landman

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