Nebraska Running Back Dedrick Mills Named to Doak Walker Watchlist

Hope springs eternal and never more so than in the time before a season starts. Everyone is undefeated. Everyone is bigger, faster and stronger! Everyone knows the playbook better and the game is slowing down...blah blah blah.

In one of the first watchlist releases, Nebraska running back Dedrick Mills has been named to the Doak Walker Award watch list. The senior running back certainly earned a nod as he finished the 2019 season strong with the highlight being his magnificent performance against Wisconsin.

If we get to see football this fall, Mills is one of the players I’ll be keeping an eye on.

From the athletic department release:

University of Nebraska running back Dedrick Mills received preseason recognition Wednesday afternoon, as he was named a candidate for the 2020 Doak Walker Award. The honor, which is awarded to the nation’s top running back, is presented by the PwC SMU Athletic Forum.

Mills, a senior from Waycross, Ga., made a significant impact in his first season at Nebraska in 2019. He led the Huskers with 745 yards and 10 rushing touchdowns, earning honorable-mention All-Big Ten accolades from both the coaches and media. Mills posted a pair of 100-yard rushing efforts for the Huskers in 2019, highlighted by a 188-yard performance against No. 15 Wisconsin. His other 100-yard performance came against Northern Illinois, when he had 116 yards and a score on just 11 carries. That performance included a career-long 61-yard run. He finished eighth in rushing and touchdowns in Big Ten play in 2019. It is the second time Mills has been on the preseason Doak Walker list, as he was also on it following his freshman year at Georgia Tech.

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 2020 recipient.