MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State junior DJ Giddens was one of 10 running backs in the country – including four from the Big 12 – to be named a semifinalist for the 2024 Doak Walker Award, the PwC SMU Athletic Forum announced Tuesday.
Giddens is the fourth player in school history to be named a semifinalist or finalist for the award that recognizes the top running back in college football. Darren Sproles was a finalist in 2003, while Daniel Thomas (2010) and Deuce Vaughn (2021 and 2022) were each semifinalists.
A product of Junction City, Kansas, Giddens has rushed for 1,128 yards and five touchdowns on 176 carries in addition to hauling in 18 catches for 219 yards and another score. He ranks eighth in the country in scrimmage yards per game (134.70), ninth in total rushing yards, 10th in all-purpose yards per game (134.70) and 15th in rushing yards per carry (6.41).
Giddens is the fourth player in school history to record multiple 1,000-yard rushing seasons, joining the aforementioned Sproles (2002, 2003, 2004), Thomas (2009, 2010) and Vaughn (2021, 2022). He ranks second in school history in single-season rushing yards per carry (6.41), sixth in rushing yards per game (112.8) and tied for eighth in 100-yard rushing games (6), while he is 98 rushing yards shy of entering the single-season top-10 list and 13 yards away from tying for fifth in school history among juniors.
Three finalists for the 2024 Doak Walker Award will be announced next Tuesday, and the winner will be unveiled live on ESPN during The Home Depot College Football Awards on December 12. The formal presentation of the award will take place at the annual banquet scheduled for January 31, 2025.