The UCLA Bruins transfer running back from James Madison, Wayne Knight was named as a 2026 Doak Walker Award candidate, according to the school’s press release on Tuesday.
Knight will enter his fifth season playing college ball after he followed his head coach, Bob Chesney, to UCLA. Not only did his decision give him a chance to play against tougher competition in the Big Ten, but he now has a chance to win the award for the country’s best running back.
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The former Dukes running back ran for 1,373 rushing yards and nine rushing touchdowns on his way to breaking a James Madison single-season record of 2,039 all-purpose yards in his final season with James Madison. Knight also earned Second Team All-American honors and was a finalist for the Hornung Award, another award watch list he was named to.
Knight’s resume coming into the Bruins has been exquisite as he continues to add excitement to Chesney’s new version of UCLA football. The new star running back for the Bruins has been named as one of the most impactful transfers of the season by USA TODAY Sports and was listed as one of the Top-100 players in the Big Ten Conference by the Big Ten Huddle.
The 5-foot-7 Bruins running back could find himself making history by becoming UCLA’s first winner of the Doak Award. The most recent Bruins playmaker to be named as a finalist for the award was Johnathan Franklin in 2012.
If Knight can accomplish that goal, then he will have to surpass the 62 other FBS running backs chosen. The Doak Walker Award National Selection Committee, a group made up of “past recipients, former NFL All-Pro and college All-America running backs, media members and selected special representatives,” will vote on the winner of the award, according to the press release.
The winner will be announced on Dec. 10 live on ESPN’s College Football Awards Show.
This article originally appeared on UCLA Wire: UCLA star named as 2026 Doak Walker Award candidate
