FSU Football: Several Nole players on national award watchlists

Doak Walker Award- Jashaun Corbin and Lawrance Toafili

This award is specific to running backs, so I have had to change the format to fit both Seminole contestants.
Jashaun Corbin is finally healthy from his hamstring injury going into fall camp. He accumulated 401 rushing yards and 120 receiving yards in 2020. These numbers aren’t going to blow anyone out of the water, but they show what Corbin could be capable of when healthy.

Toafili came in as a lanky freshman running back who only got in on the running back timeshare in the Jacksonville State game and hit the ground running. On 37 attempts, he ran for 356 yards, and through the air added another 120 yards on 12 receptions.

Toafili’s 9.6 yards per carry placed him 2nd in the category for FBS schools. While Corbin didn’t have the same gravitas, he also had more totals carries and put up a beyond respectable five yards per carry.

The same questions about their potential surround all other offensive weapons. What will the offensive line be able to do to help? Will the production be about the same if there is a quarterback change?

I have voiced my concerns about the handling of the development of Toafili, and Norvell’s insistence on making him a hybrid receiving type. It is as baffling to me as Urban Meyer making Travis Etienne a wide receiver.

The addition of DJ Williams to the room changes the prospect of things, and I am not quite sure how the rotation of the players in the backfield committee will fit. Especially as the new offensive system for year two trends toward being more passing-centric.

Their competition, outside of being each other, includes Tank Bigsby (who I have found in nearly every watchlist), Zach Evans, and Jahmyr Gibbs, among many others that I particularly like.

I believe that the Doak Walker Award may be one of the better opportunities for silverware during the backs time in garnet and gold, but I would not put much into either Seminole representative bringing it to the Moore this year.