Michigan State Football: Jarek Broussard named to Doak Walker Award watch list

The Michigan State football team continues to see players added to preseason watch lists for prestigious awards this week, as running back Jarek Broussard has now been named to the Doak Walker Award watch list.

Broussard joins Michigan State as a graduate transfer in 2022, following four seasons with the Colorado Buffaloes. He redshirted in 2018 as a true freshman and suffered a knee injury that prevented him from seeing game action in 2019 (while Mel Tucker was the head coach at Colorado that year). Then, in 2020, Broussard was named the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year and a Mayo Clinic Comeback Player of the Year. Overall, he rushed 156 times for 895 yards (5.7 yards per carry) and five touchdowns in the COVID-19 shortened 2020 season. He led the Pac-12 and Power Five in rushing, and ranked third nationally during his redshirt sophomore season.

In 2021, Broussard saw action in 11 games, starting in 10 of them before suffering an injury that resulted in missing the season finale. He led the team with 661 rushing yards, averaging 4.65 yards per carry, and earned honorable mention All-Pac-12 honors. Broussard posted two games of 100-plus yards, including a season-high 151 yards on 24 carries against Oregon State. He added 13 catches for 81 yards on the season, and scored two rushing touchdowns, including a long of 49 yards.

Broussard will team up with fellow transfer Jalen Berger (Wisconsin), and the rest of MSU’s stable of running backs in 2022.

Including Broussard, 10 Big Ten running backs are among those named to the Doak Walker Award watch list. Michigan State’s schedule features teams with nine running backs named to the preseason watch list, including Western Michigan’s Sean Tyler in non-conference action.

Since its inception in 1990, the Doak Walker Award goes to the nation’s top running back each year. Last season, Kenneth Walker III became the first Spartan to win the award.