UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State running backs Noah Cain, Keyvone Lee and John Lovett each have earned a spot on the Doak Walker Award Watch List, it was announced by the PwC SMU Athletic Forum on Wednesday. The Forum annually presents the award to the nation's top college running back.
The PwC SMU Athletic Forum Board of Directors will name ten semifinalists in November, and three finalists, as voted on by the Doak Walker Award National Selection Committee, will be announced in November. The committee will cast a second vote in December to determine the recipient. The National Selection Committee consists of past recipients, former NFL All-Pro and college All-America running backs, media members and selected special representatives.
The recipient of the 2021 Doak Walker Award will be announced live on The Home Depot College Football Awards.
The award is named for SMU's three-time All-America running back Doak Walker. It is the only major collegiate award that requires all candidates to be in good academic standing and on schedule to graduate within one year of other students of the same classification.
Noah Cain
- Suffered a season-ending injury on the first drive in the 2020 opener at Indiana.
- Named to the 2020 Doak Walker Award preseason watch list.
- Appeared in 10 games as a true freshman in 2019, making one start.
- Ran for 443 yards on 84 carries (5.3) with eight rushing touchdowns.
- Had two multi-touchdown games (Idaho and Memphis).
- Set a Penn State freshman record with eight rushing touchdowns, passing D.J. Dozier (7, 1983) and Saquon Barkley (7, 2015).
Keyvone Lee
- Appeared in nine games with three starts...One of 14 players to make their first career start.
- Ran for a team-high 438 yards on 89 carries (4.9 yards per carry) with four touchdowns.
- Added 12 receptions for 66 yards.
- Named the Coaching Staff's Offensive Player of the Week vs. Michigan (11/28).
- Tallied 134 rushing yards at Michigan (11/28), the most by a Penn State freshman since Saquon Barkley against Ohio State in 2015.
John Lovett
- Finished No. 16 all-time on Baylor's career rushing list with 1,803 yards.
- 11th all-time at Baylor in yards per rushing attempt (5.07).
- Started all five games he played in 2020, while missing three games due to injury.
- Appeared in all 14 games in 2019, making eight starts, finishing with 655 rushing yards on 103 attempts with five touchdowns and averaging 6.4 yards per carry.
Penn State Football Preseason Honors/Watch Lists
Jaquan Brisker: Bednarik Award
Noah Cain: Doak Walker Award
Jahan Dotson: Maxwell Award
James Franklin: Dodd Trophy
Keyvone Lee: Doak Walker Award
John Lovett: Doak Walker Award
Penn State's season opener on Sept. 4 at Wisconsin will kick off at noon on FOX. The Nittany Lions will make their return to Beaver Stadium on Sept. 11 vs. Ball State, a 3:30 p.m. ET start on FS1. Penn State's 2021 schedule with updated kick times and TV designations can be found here: https://bit.ly/3fVFuhc.
The 2021 Penn State Football season is presented by PSECU.