A trio of stars from Texas colleges took home awards during ESPN’s College Football Awards Show Thursday night as the best players in the nation at their respective positions.
Texas’ Bijan Robinson was awarded the Doak Walker Award, given to the nation’s best running back.
TCU’s Max Duggan took home the Davey O’Brien Award, given to the nation’s best quarterback.
Fellow Horned Frog Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson was named the Jim Thorpe Award winner as college football’s best defensive back.
Doak Walker Award
Texas’ Bijan Robinson beat Michigan’s Blake Corum and Illinois’ Chase Brown for the prestigious Doak Walker Award.
Robinson rushed for 1,580 yards and 18 touchdowns on 258 carries. He also added 19 receptions for 314 yards and two more touchdowns.
Among FBS players, Robinson ranks fifth in the country in rushing yards. Nobody in the nation has more combined rushing and receiving yards than Robinson.
With 21 touchdowns, Pittsburgh running back Israel Abanikanda is the only FBS player with more touchdowns than Robinson. The Longhorns star is one of 24 qualified players averaging more than six yards per rush, unlike the other finalists, Corum (247 rushes for 1,463 yards and 18 TDs) and Brown (328 rushes for 1,643 yards and 10 TDs).
Robinson joins two-time winner Ricky Williams (1997, 1998), Cedric Benson (2004), and D’Onta Foreman (2016) as Longhorns who have won the Doak Walker. Texas now joins Wisconsin as the only program to boast five Doak Walker winners.
Robinson, a junior, has yet to announce whether he will return to Texas for his senior season. If Robinson opts to forgo his senior season, he is projected to be the first running back selected in the 2022 draft.
If Robinson’s Texas career is complete, he will finish fourth all-time in Longhorn history in career rushing yards (3,410) and is tied for sixth in career rushing touchdowns (33).
Davey O’Brien Award
The trophy named after one of the greatest players in the history of TCU is going to a TCU player for the first time.
Max Duggan, a four-year starter at quarterback, put together one of college football’s best seasons for the Horned Frogs. The senior finished the season with 3,321 passing yards, 30 touchdowns, and just four interceptions, adding 404 rushing yards and six touchdowns on the ground on 112 carries.
Over his collegiate career, Duggan has played 45 games for TCU, throwing for 9,241 yards, 71 touchdowns and just 24 interceptions. Duggan has also added 1,837 rushing yards and 25 touchdowns on 463 carries throughout his career.
Duggan’s incredible season earned him a spot as a Heisman finalist. Winning the Davey O’Brien Award may foreshadow his chances of taking home the trophy given to the best overall player in the nation, as he beat out fellow Heisman finalists C.J. Stroud and Caleb Williams for the O’Brien trophy.
Duggan’s O’Brien win is just the continuation of what may be the best season in TCU’s history. The Horned Frogs are in the college football playoffs and will play a national semifinal against Michigan in the Fiesta Bowl on New Year’s Eve in Arizona.
TCU head coach Sonny Dykes was named the Walter Camp Coach of the Year, and offensive coordinator Garrett Riley won the Broyles Award, given to college football’s top assistant coach to further commemorate the historic season for the Horned Frogs.
Jim Thorpe Award
Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson, the nephew of former TCU star and NFL Hall of Famer LaDainian Tomlinson, adds another honor to a storied career in the Jim Thorpe Award.
The senior cornerback was named to the first-team All-Big 12 team for the third straight season after playing the most snaps (857) among cornerbacks in the Big 12, totaling 42 tackles on the season, including two for loss, defending 11 passes, and grabbing three interceptions.
His season was highlighted when he forced a turnover in four consecutive games with his three interceptions and a forced fumble.
Amid that four-game forced turnover streak, he had an interception and three pass breakups as TCU held Texas to no offensive touchdowns and just 199 yards of offense in a 17-10 win.
Hodges-Tomlinson was also named the Honorable Mention Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year and was graded by Pro Football Focus as the top cornerback in the Big 12 (91.8).
After his standout career at TCU, Hodges-Tomlinson is expected to be an early-round selection in the NFL Draft. He is the second Horned Frog to win the Thorpe Award in just three years, as former TCU safety and current Las Vegas Raiders Tre’von Moehrig was the 2020 recipient.
