THE FLATS – Georgia Tech junior B-back KirVonte Benson is one of 62 student-athletes on the official watch list for the 2018 Doak Walker Award, the PwC SMU Athletic Forum announced on Wednesday. The Doak Walker Award honors the nation’s top running back and will be presented for the 29th time this season.
Benson, who entered his sophomore season without a collegiate carry, rushed 1,053 yards and 5.2 yards per attempt in 2017. In 11 contests, he had five 100-yard rushing games, carried the ball 20 times or more on five occasions and averaged 6.8 yards per carry or better three times. With 129 yards on just 16 carries at Clemson (Oct. 28), he was the only individual to rush for 100 yards or better than eight yards per carry (8.1) against the eventual Atlantic Coast Conference champions in 2017. He finished the season ranked fourth in the ACC and 35th nationally in rushing (95.7 ypg).
Benson and quarterback TaQuon Marshall became only the second set of teammates in Georgia Tech history to both rush for 1,000 yards in a season and the first Yellow Jackets duo to ever record four games in a single season with 100 rushing yards apiece in 2017.
The Doak Walker Award watch list is the second to include Benson this preseason. On Monday, both he and Marshall were among the 85 student-athletes named to the official watch list for the 2018 Maxwell Award, which is given to “America’s College Player of the Year.”
Ten semifinalists for the 2018 Doak Walker Award will be announced in November and three finalists will be unveiled on Nov. 20. The winner will be announced as part of the 2018 Home Depot College Football Awards Show on Dec. 6. The recipient will be selected by Doak Walker Award national selection committee, which consists of past recipients, NFL All-Pro and college all-America running backs, media representatives and selected special representatives.
Georgia Tech opens the 2018 season on Saturday, Sept. 1 when it hosts Alcorn State at Bobby Dodd Stadium. The Yellow Jackets’ six-game home slate also includes four ACC contests against teams that advanced to the postseason last year, including highly anticipated matchups against defending ACC division champions Clemson (Sept. 22) and Miami (Nov. 10). There are two ways to catch all of the exciting action of Georgia Tech football at Bobby Dodd Stadium this season — full season tickets, which guarantee the best seats for all six home games starting at just $219, or the brand-new Georgia Tech football Stinger Pass, a flexible, mobile-only ticket option that guarantees a seat for all six contests for just $149. For more information and to purchase tickets online, click HERE.
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