Go Joe Bruin
Fansided

UCLA Football: Joshua Kelley named to the Doak Walker Award watch list

By Mike Regalado

PASADENA, CA - OCTOBER 06: Linebacker Ben Burr-Kirven #25 of the Washington Huskies chases down running back Joshua Kelley #27 of the UCLA Bruins as he runs for a first down in the first quarter of the game at the Rose Bowl on October 6, 2018 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
PASADENA, CA - OCTOBER 06: Linebacker Ben Burr-Kirven #25 of the Washington Huskies chases down running back Joshua Kelley #27 of the UCLA Bruins as he runs for a first down in the first quarter of the game at the Rose Bowl on October 6, 2018 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

UCLA football’s premier running back, Joshua Kelley, has been named to another preseason watch list as he has made the Doak Walker Award list.

Joshua Kelley is receiving a lot of attention prior to the 2018 season. Today, the UCLA football star collected his second preseason honor as he was named to the Doak Walker Award watchlist.

RELATED: UCLA Football – Award Watch List Tracker

Two days ago, Kelley received his first honor as he found his name on the Maxwell Award watchlist which is given to the best all-around athlete in America. This is no surprise as the Bruin running back opened plenty of eyes last year as he was the stand out offensive player for UCLA.

More from Go Joe Bruin

Compared to the Maxwell, the Doak Walker Award is a little bit more specific as it honors the best running back in America. Kelley was among 71 players in the country to make the list.

It is no secret that the Bruins had a tough start to the 2018 season as they were adjusting to a new philosophy and system under head coach Chip Kelly, but as the year progressed, so did the offense, including the star running back.

Kelley started to emerge mid-season when he was getting the majority of reps. His production allowed him to gain 1,243 yards, the first time a Bruin running back has gone over 1,000 since Paul Perkins in 2015 with 1,343.

Included in those 1,243 yards was an astounding 289 rushing performance against USC. That was one of six games in which Kelley ran for over 100 yards.

https://twitter.com/UCLAFootball/status/1151540257621331968

Next. UCLA Football: 2019 Post-Spring Game Projected Depth Chart. dark

It will be interesting to see how Kelley performs this season as he will be the starting back from day one, unlike last year. If he is in mid-season form at the start of the season, we could speculate that he can gain north of 1,500 yards. It would be quite the task, but one that Kelley can easily handle.