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UNC's Omarion Hampton Named The Doak Walker National Running Back of the Week

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Football

North Carolina running back Omarion Hampton rushed for a career-high 234 yards on 26 carries and scored three touchdowns as the Tar Heels held off an upset bid from in-state foe App State, 40-34 in double overtime.

The performance earned him the Doak Walker National Running Back of the Week honor for games of the weekend of Sept. 9.

The 6-0, 220-pound sophomore from Clayton, N.C. opened the scoring for North Carolina with a career-long 68-yard touchdown run before adding a 7-yard fourth-quarter scoring dash and tacking on a 17-yard scoring run on Carolina’s first possesion of overtime. The Atlantic Coast Conference’s Running Back of the Week became the 27th UNC player to rush for more than 200 yards in a game.

Coming off a two-touchdown performance in the season-opener against South Carolina, Hampton is the first Tar Heel to score five rushing touchdowns in the first two games of a season since 1995.

The Tar Heels (2-0) play host to Minnesota on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Other candidates for the honor in Week 2 included:

  • Daelen Alexander, Rice: Alexander, a freshman, set a school record scoring 14 points in overtime, rushing for both Rice touchdowns along with the decisive two-point conversion in a 43-41 win over Houston. The win allowed the Owls to capture the Bayou Bucket for the first time since 2010 and snap a 17-game losing streak to Power Five programs dating to 2013.
  • Roman Hemby, Maryland: Hemby had 217 yards of total offense – 162 rushing and 55 receiving – and a rushing touchdown to lead Maryland past Charlotte, 38-20. It was the sophomore’s fifth career 100-yard game and his first of the season as he averaged 8.5 yards on 19 carries. In total, he had 217 yards on 24 touches
  • Corey Kiner, Cincinnati: Kiner had a career night rushing for a personal-best 153 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries in a 27-21 win at Pitt. The junior’s career-long 68-yard run in the first quarter punctuated his second consecutive 100-yard performance and the third of his career.
  • Darius Taylor, Minnesota: Taylor carried 33 times for 193 yards and one touchdown in 25-6 win against Eastern Michigan. After carrying the ball once in the season-opener vs. Nebraska, his 193 yards were second-most in school history for a true freshman.
  • Keith Willis Jr, Louisiana Tech: The true freshman ran over and ran away from Northwestern State, leading a Louisiana Tech rushing attack with 188 yards and two touchdowns as the Bulldogs won, 51-21. Willis had touchdown runs of 68 and 65 yards while averaging 14.5 yards per carry on the night.

The Doak Walker Award presented by the PwC SMU Athletic Forum has been awarded to the nation’s top running back since 1990. Since 2022, the award has recognized a national running back of the week. A select 20-person committee from the award’s full voting body of media and past winners chooses the weekly recipient. On Aug. 9, a preseason candidates list was released and semifinalists for the award will be named on Nov. 21. A week later, the three finalists will be announced.

The 2023 Doak Walker Award winner will be unveiled live on The Home Depot College Football Awards, televised by ESPN on Dec. 7 or 8. The annual banquet, where the winner and the recipient of the 2024 PwC Doak Walker Legends Award will be honored, will take place in February in Dallas.

The Doak Walker Award is a member of the National College Football Awards Association. Founded in 1997, the NCFAA includes college football’s most prestigious awards and its 24 awards have honored more than 900 recipients dating back to 1935. This season, 12 NCFAA awards will honor national players of the week each Tuesday.