Michigan State University Athletics
Elijah Collins Named to Doak Walker Award Watch List
7/15/2020 1:00:00 PM | Football
EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State redshirt sophomore running back Elijah Collins has been named to the Doak Walker Award Watch List, the PwC SMU Athletic Forum announced on Wednesday. The Forum annually presents the award to the nation's top college running back.
After preserving his redshirt year in 2018 by appearing in just three games, Collins had a breakthrough season as a redshirt freshman for the Spartans in 2019, leading the team and ranking fourth in the Big Ten with 988 rushing yards (76.0 avg.).
Collins, who earned third-team All-Big Ten honors by the media and Pro Football Focus, was just 12 yards shy of becoming MSU's first 1,000-yard rusher since Jeremy Langford in 2014 and rushed for the second-most yards ever by a Spartan freshman (record: Sedrick Irvin with 1,067 yards in 1996). Collins' 222 carries were also the most by a Spartan back since Langford in 2014 (276) and the most by a Spartan freshman since Irvin (237) in 1996.
The Detroit, Michigan, native emerged as one of the top freshman running backs in the nation, ranking third among all FBS freshman RBs in carries (222; 17.1 pg) and fifth in rushing (76.0 ypg).
In his first career start against Western Michigan in Week 2, Collins quickly burst onto the scene with 192 rushing yards on just 17 carries (11.3 avg.), the second-most rushing yards ever by a Spartan freshman in a single game. He also had 100-yard rushing games against Illinois (170) and Rutgers (109) and had 96 yards on 21 carries in MSU's Pinstripe Bowl win over Wake Forest.
With 988 yards rushing in 2019, Collins is the top returning rusher in the Big Ten from last season.
After preserving his redshirt year in 2018 by appearing in just three games, Collins had a breakthrough season as a redshirt freshman for the Spartans in 2019, leading the team and ranking fourth in the Big Ten with 988 rushing yards (76.0 avg.).
Collins, who earned third-team All-Big Ten honors by the media and Pro Football Focus, was just 12 yards shy of becoming MSU's first 1,000-yard rusher since Jeremy Langford in 2014 and rushed for the second-most yards ever by a Spartan freshman (record: Sedrick Irvin with 1,067 yards in 1996). Collins' 222 carries were also the most by a Spartan back since Langford in 2014 (276) and the most by a Spartan freshman since Irvin (237) in 1996.
The Detroit, Michigan, native emerged as one of the top freshman running backs in the nation, ranking third among all FBS freshman RBs in carries (222; 17.1 pg) and fifth in rushing (76.0 ypg).
In his first career start against Western Michigan in Week 2, Collins quickly burst onto the scene with 192 rushing yards on just 17 carries (11.3 avg.), the second-most rushing yards ever by a Spartan freshman in a single game. He also had 100-yard rushing games against Illinois (170) and Rutgers (109) and had 96 yards on 21 carries in MSU's Pinstripe Bowl win over Wake Forest.
With 988 yards rushing in 2019, Collins is the top returning rusher in the Big Ten from last season.
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