Iowa State football: Aaron Wimberly named on Doak Walker watch list
By Brian Spaen
It’s been a while since an Iowa State player was named on a college football award watch list, but Aaron Wimberly finally breaks the silence by being listed on the Doak Walker Award watch list.
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A total of 53 players were named on the watch list. The Doak Walker Award honors the best running back in college football. This is the 25th year this award will be presented.
USA Today even highlights Wimberly as a headliner on the watch list.
"South Carolina’s Mike Davis and Wisconsin’s Melvin Gordon join [Nebraska’s Ameer] Abdullah as returners to the watch list from 2013. Georgia’s Todd Gurley, LSU’s Terrence Magee, Iowa State’s Aaron Wimberly and Alabama’s T.J. Yeldon headline this year’s list."
Four other players in the Big 12 made the list, including Shock Linwood from Baylor, B.J. Catalon from TCU, and Malcolm Brown and Johnathan Gray from Texas.
Despite having lots of seniors at running back last year, Wimberly emerged from the pack early and was the go-to guy until he tended to fade off toward the end of the season with injuries.
He did end up finishing first in rushing yards (567) and had four yards per carry on 141 total carries. Adding to that total, Wimberly caught 18 passes for 211 yards and two touchdowns.
This is the second award watch list that Wimberly was named on. Earlier, he was put on the Paul Hornung Award watch list for the most versatile player in college football.
Once again, this is a great honor for Wimberly and plenty of eyes will be on him to be one of the leaders on the Iowa State offense in 2014.