Ka’Deem Carey on the red carpet before Thursday night’s awards show. Photo via Twitter @ESPNCFB
Arizona Wildcats junior Ka’Deem Carey fell short in his effort to win the Doak Walker Award, given to the nation’s top running back.
The award went Thursday night to Boston College senior Andre Williams at the Home Depot College Football Awards Show on ESPN.
Carey was one of three Doak Award finalists, the other being Washington’s Bishop Sankey. The result wasn’t a big surprise, as Williams was one of the six players invited to the Heisman Trophy ceremony, while Carey was not.
The fun part is that the Carey-Williams storyline isn’t over.
Carey and Williams, who met this week for the first time while at the award festivities in Orlando, Fla., will face off on the field when Arizona and Boston College play in the AdvoCare V100 Bowl in Shreveport, La., on Dec. 31.
Carey is averaging 156.0 yards per game, second nationally to Williams’ mark of 175.2. Williams has rushed for 386 more yards than Carey, having played in one more game (Carey was suspended for the season-opener). But Carey also has 26 catches for 173 yards, while Williams has no receptions.
(My comment: I am a voter for the award and had Carey at No. 1 on my ballot, but I understand that Williams’ 2,102 rushing yards were hard for others to ignore, although no running back was as consistently excellent as Carey.)
Carey already has been selected the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year and will now wait for more All-American honors to roll in. He has been selected a first-team All-American by USA Today.
Carey was accompanied in Orlando by Arizona offensive coordinator/running backs coach Calvin Magee.
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