The Texas Longhorns place not one, but two on the 2025 Doak Walker Award Watch List – hoping to earn the program’s sixth all-time selection
The preseason No. 1 team in the country received another accolade Tuesday. The Texas Longhorn running backs CJ Baxter and Quintrevion Wisner were selected to the preseason watch list for the Doak Walker Award. The award is presented annually to the nation’s most outstanding college running back.Baxter has earned a spot on the watch list for the second-consecutive […]
The preseason No. 1 team in the country received another accolade Tuesday. The Texas Longhorn running backs CJ Baxter and Quintrevion Wisner were selected to the preseason watch list for the Doak Walker Award. The award is presented annually to the nation’s most outstanding college running back.
Baxter has earned a spot on the watch list for the second-consecutive season. Baxter and Wisner look to join a prestigious quartet of Longhorns who have won the Doak Walker Award, which became a major award in college football in 1990.
Ricky Williams was a two-time winner – hoisting the trophy in 1997 and 1998. Cedric Benson collected it in 2004, D’Onta Foreman won it in 2016, and Bijan Robinson took home the hardware in 2022. Texas’ five all-time Doak Walker Award trophies are tied for the most by an FBS school with Wisconsin.
In 2023, former UT running back Jonathon Brooks was named a semifinalist for the award. Baxter and Wisner are the third Texas running back duo to be selected to the preseason watch list for the award in the last four years. Last season, Baxter and Jaydon Blue were both placed on the watch list. Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson were selected in 2022.
CJ Baxter missed the entire 2024 season after sustaining a season-ending injury during fall camp.
As a true freshman in 2023, Baxter earned a second-team All-America nod by The Athletic, Freshman All-American Honorable mention by College Football Network, and honorable mention All-Big 12 honors, in addition to being honorable mention Big 12 Offensive Newcomer of the Year.
Baxter also received preseason second-team All-SEC accolades on offense in July. In his first season, he ran the ball 138 times for 659 yards and five touchdowns while also adding 24 receptions for 156 yards. His 659 rushing yards are the 12th-most for a Longhorn freshman in program history. In Texas’ season-opening victory against Rice, he became the first true freshman running back to start for the Longhorns since Ricky Williams in 1995.
In a win versus Kansas State, he had 10 carries for 90 yards and one touchdown, including a 54-yard run. In the road victory at Iowa State, he established career highs in carries (20), rushing yards (117) and receptions (5), recording the first 100-yard rushing performance of his career. In the College Football Playoff semifinal against No. 2 Washington in the Sugar Bowl, he rushed nine times for 64 yards (7.1ypc) and one touchdown, while hauling in two passes for 39 yards, including a career-long 31-yard reception.
Tre Wisner is the lone 1,000-yard rusher returning to CFB in 2025.
The third-year player earned a 2024 Third-Team All-SEC selection and in doing so grabbed a 2025 preseason First-Team All-SEC selection. He also found himself on the preseason watch list for the 2025 Maxwell Award.
As a sophomore in 2024, he played in 15 games with 12 starts and ran for a team-high 1,064 yards and five touchdowns on 226 carries. Wisner had the third-most receptions on the team (44) for 411 yards and a score. The 44 receptions were the second-most in a single-season by a Texas running back while the 411 receiving yards were the third-most.
Collectively, he amassed 1,375 all-purpose yards and six touchdowns during his sophomore season. He put together four 100-yard rushing performances with all four coming against SEC or CFP opponents.
The recipient of the 2025 Doak Walker Award will be announced live on The Home Depot College Football Awards on Dec. 12, 2024.
