CJ Donaldson, Jahiem White Both Recognized on Doak Walker Award Watch List

The Mountaineers are spoiled at the running back position with both CJ Donaldson and Jahiem White making the 2024 Doak Walker Award Preseason Watch List.

Donaldson, now a junior, is looking to rebound from an up and down 2023 season. He’s high on a short list of Mountaineers facing pressure to perform in 2024.

While he did finish with 798 yards and 11 touchdowns, the then sophomore running back also struggled mightily at times and had to undergo offseason surgery.

WVU RB CJ Donaldson Describes His 2023 Season, Details What He’s Working On

Jahiem White emerging will forever go down as a memorable part of the success of the 2023 season for WVU, but Neal Brown also hopes it ends up being just a footnote of White’s Mountaineer legacy.

After starting the season behind Donaldson, White eventually became West Virginia’s leading rusher. White’s first big game came against BYU, running for 146 yards on only 16 carries. He then really caught everyone’s attention (including a former NFL MVP) after putting up monster numbers in a win over Cincinnati. White averaged 9.7 yards per touch, totaling 204 yards on the ground and then another 75 yards receiving.

Neal Brown on Expectations for Jahiem White, Avoiding Sophomore Slump

White should be even better with a college season under his belt, but he won’t be able to surprise anyone anymore. If White does live up the hype, the Mountaineer offense should be more potent than it’s been in years.

There’s no controversy between W VU’s two top backs though. Donaldson referred to White as his “co partner” in the running back room after a fall camp practice on Monday.

From the press release

The PwC SMU Athletic Forum annually presents the award to the nation’s most outstanding college running back.

The list features 2023 Doak Walker Award recipient Ollie Gordon II (Oklahoma State), who is seeking to become the third two-time recipient of the award (Melvin Gordon 2018-19 and Ricky Williams 1996-97).

The award is named for SMU’s three-time All-America running back Doak Walker. Each Tuesday of this season, The PwC SMU Athletic Forum will once again announce a Doak Walker National Running Back of the week.