Wisconsin Badger running back Montee Ball was awarded the Doak Walker Award at the Home Depot College Football Awards at Walt
Disney World tonight. Ball also was named to the Walter Camp All-America team for the second-consecutive season.
Ball finished ahead of fellow Doak Walker finalists Kenjon Barner of Oregon and Johnathan Franklin of UCLA for the honor, which has been presented to the nation’s most outstanding running back each year since 1989.
Ball becomes Wisconsin’s second Doak Walker Award winner, joining 1999 winner Ron Dayne. He’s the sixth Big Ten player to earn the honor, and the first since Iowa’s Shonn Greene in 2008.
Ball is the NCAA’s all-time leader in touchdowns with 82 and also holds the NCAA career record for rushing touchdowns with 76. He ranks in a tie for fourth all-time among Big Ten players with 5,040 career rushing yards and became the 17th player in FBS history to surpass 5,000 yards.
Ball will be honored at the 2012 Doak Walker Award Banquet on Feb. 15 in Dallas.