Jarek Broussard and Alex Fontenot named to Doak Walker Award watchlist
On Wednesday, 80 players across college football were named to the annual Doak Walker Award preseason watchlist.
The Buffaloes had two representatives on the list for the award, which honors the nation's top tailback each year, in sophomore Jarek Broussard and junior Alex Fontenot.
For Broussard, his inclusion on the preseason watchlist comes as no surprise given the breakout season he put together in 2020.
During Colorado's condensed, five-game regular season last year, he rushed for 813 yards, scoring three touchdowns and averaging 6.3 yards per carry.
Broussard added another 84 yards and two scores in the Buffs' loss to Texas in the Valero Alamo Bowl.
When all was said and done, Broussard, seeing the field in college for the first time last fall, earned Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year honors as well as being named first-team All-Pac-12.
Fontenot making the cut is interesting given that he missed the entirety of the 2020 season due tom injury, which in part helped pave Broussard's path to being CU's workhorse last year.
However, in 2019, his sophomore year, Fontenot produced a successful campaign for the 5-7 Buffs, rushing for 874 yards in 11 games played.
He eclipsed 100 yards three times that year and found the endzone for five touchdowns by year's end.
In 2020, Broussard shouldered a heavy workload that saw him on average take about 26 carries per game.
For comparison's sake, Fontenot took about 17 handoffs in 11 games played the previous year.
While there will be much hashing out to do at CU's fall camp, which kicks off Aug. 5, if indeed Broussard and Fontenot are both healthy leading into Colorado's season opener Sept. 3 against Northern Colorado, it seems logical that Broussard's carries per game will go down, even if slightly, to keep him fresh in light of a full, 12-game year.
There's also freshman Ashaad Clayton to keep in mind, as well, in terms of someone the Buffs could turn to for an increased amount of carries.
Clayton took seven carries for 31 yards last year as a true freshman, scoring a pair of touchdowns and looking good in an albeit minimal workload.
He should be in a position to battle Fontenot for the No. 2 tailback spot behind Broussard.
CU also has the services of sophomores Deion Smith and Joe Davis, as well as freshman utility back Jayle Stacks, to provide further depth.
Regardless of how handoffs are divvied out between the likes of Broussard, Fontenot, Clayton and whomever else the coaching staff feels deserves them, Darian Hagan's room looks like it'll be a position group of major strength for the Buffs in 2021.
