July 17, 2015
Vanderbilt sophomore Ralph Webb has been named as a preseason candidate for the Doak Walker Award, given annually to the nation’s premier running back.
Webb, a product of Gainesville (Fla.) High School who set numerous freshman rushing records for the Commodores last year, is the first Commodore back named as a Walker Award candidate since Zac Stacy was listed in 2012.
Webb is one of nine running backs from the Southeastern Conference among 69 players nationally named July 14 to the Walker Award watch list.
Webb was the Commodores’ most productive offensive weapon in 2014, setting several freshman rushing records. Webb’s 907-yard total broke Kwane Doster’s 12-year-old freshman record and ranks seventh all-time on the Commodore single-season rushing list.
Webb’s 212 rush attempts, the third highest total in the SEC last year, also established a new team freshman record, and ranks as the most carries by a Commodore back since Jermaine Johnson had 267 carries in 1995.
Webb also broke the team’s single-game rushing total by a freshman, establishing the new standard with a 166-yard effort against Old Dominion.
Last week at Media Days in Hoover, Ala., Webb was among 14 student-athletes featured in the “Beyond the Field: Stories of the SEC.” Webb was recognized for his accomplishments on and off the field. A 2015 SEC Academic Honor Roll recipient, Webb spent much of May with a dozen other Vanderbilt undergraduates along the Gold Coast of Australia, studying biodiversity and conservation efforts. Webb joined students snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef, kayaking through mangrove forests, and zip-lining and hiking through rainforests on Fraser Island.
The 2014 Walker Award recipient, Melvin Gordon of Wisconsin, was coached by first-year Vanderbilt offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig.