July 15, 2011
Doak Walker Award Official Release (PDF)
TUCSON, Ariz. - Arizona senior running back Keola Antolin has been named to a field of 51 candidates for the 2011 Doak Walker Walker Award, presented annually to the nation's top running back, the PwC SMU Athletic Forum announced on Friday.
Antolin, a native of Las Vegas, Calif., has led the Wildcats in rushing in two consecutive seasons. He enters his final campaign with 1,830 rushing yards and 21 rushing touchdowns in his career. He boasts a 4.9 yards per carry clip on 374 career totes in 38 collegiate games.
As a freshman in 2008, Antolin immediately stepped in and provided depth in the backfield as helped guide the Wildcats to their first of three consecutive bowl appearances. In his inaugural season, Antolin tallied 525 yards on the ground and scored 10 touchdowns, the seventh-most in a single season at the school.
Antolin set several career highs as a true freshman, including his personal best tally of 149 rushing yards in a home upset of nationally-ranked California. Later that year, the 5-foot-8, 195-pounder racked up four touchdowns on the ground in a near upset at Oregon. The 24 points scored individually in that game tied for the third-most ever by a UA player in a single contest.
As a sophomore in 2009, led the squad with 637 rushing yards to go with four scores. His 67-yard scoring run against Arizona State earned him the Bob Moran MVP Award in the Territorial Cup . The victory helped push the Wildcats towards an eight-win regular season and an invitation to the Holiday Bowl.
As a junior in 2010, Antolin churned out a career-best 668 rushing yards with seven touchowns. He started eight games - the most in his career - while also contributing 204 yards and two scores in the passing game.
Antolin enters this fall just 170 yards shy of the 2,000-yard mark for his career. He has 311 receiving yards and 579 kickoff return yards in his three seasons, duties he may again be counted on for this year. He has 23 total career touchdowns (21 rushing, two receiving).
2011 Doak Walker Award Candidates
Alvester Alexander (Jr.), Wyoming
Victor Anderson (Sr.), Louisville
Keola Antolin (Sr.), Arizona
Edwin Baker (Jr.), Michigan State
Montee Ball (Jr.), Wisconsin
Vick Ballard (Sr.), Mississippi State
Bryce Beall (Sr.), Houston
Duane Bennett (Sr.), Minnesota
Brandon Bolden (Sr.), Ole Miss
Rex Burkhead (Jr.), Nebraska
Asher Clark (Sr.), Air Force
Marcus Coker (So.), Iowa
Lennon Creer (Sr.), Louisiana Tech
Orleans Darkwa (So.), Tulane
Knile Davis (Jr.), Arkansas
Jeff Demps (Sr.), Florida
JJ Di Luigi (Sr.), BYU
Lance Dunbar (Sr.), North Texas
Michael Dyer (So.), Auburn
Andre Ellington (Jr.), Clemson
Jason Ford (Sr.), Illinois
Johnathan Franklin (Jr.), UCLA
Ray Graham (Jr.), Pittsburgh
Cyrus Gray (Sr.), Texas A&M
Montel Harris (Sr.), Boston College
Ronnie Hillman (So.), San Diego State
LaMichael James (Jr.), Oregon
Marcus Lattimore (So.), South Carolina
Zach Line (Jr.), SMU
Doug Martin (Sr.), Boise State
Sam McGuffie (Jr.), Rice
Davin Meggett (Sr.), Maryland
Christine Michael (Jr.), Texas A&M
Lamar Miller (So.), Miami
Alfred Morris (Sr.), Florida Atlantic
Isaiah Pead (Sr.), Cincinnati
Chris Polk (Jr.), Washington
Tauren Poole (Sr.), Tennessee
Bobby Rainey (Sr.), Western Kentucky
Trent Richardson (Jr.), Alabama
Pat Shed (Sr.), UAB
Rodney Stewart (Sr.), Colorado
Stepfan Taylor (Jr.), Stanford
Alexander Teich (Sr.), Navy
Adonis Thomas (Sr.), Toledo
Matthew Tucker (Jr.), TCU
Robert Turbin (Jr.), Utah State
Ed Wesley (Jr.), TCU
James White (So.), Wisconsin
David Wilson (Jr.), Virginia Tech
Cierre Wood (Jr.), Notre Dame
