Gophers senior David Cobb was among 53 running backs named to the Doak Walker Award preseason watch list Thursday.
The Doak Walker Award is given annually to the nation's top running back. Cobb had a breakout season last year as a junior, rushing for 1,202 yards, the highest total for a Gopher since Amir Pinnix rushed for 1,272 in 2006.
Other Big Ten running backs who made this year's watch list include Nebraska's Ameer Abdullah, Wisconsin's Melvin Gordon, Michigan State's Jeremy Langford, Indiana's Tevin Coleman, Illinois' Josh Ferguson and the Penn State duo of Bill Belton and Zach Zwinak.
