Judkins a finalist for Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year
Ole Miss running back Quinshon Judkins has been named a finalist for the Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award, the Maxwell Football Club announced on Thursday.
The Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award has been presented to the College Freshman Player of the Year since 2018 and is named in honor of Shaun Alexander, a former standout at the University of Alabama and with the Seattle Seahawks in the NFL.
Malaki Starks (DB, Georgia), Harold Perkins Jr. (LB, LSU), Drake Maye (QB, North Carolina) and Abdul Carter (LB, Penn State) all join Judkins on the list of finalists. The winner will be unveiled Dec. 29, while the formal presentations will be made at the Maxwell Football Club Awards in March 2023.
Judkins set the Ole Miss single-season record in both rushing yards (1,476) and rushing touchdowns (16). Besides rushing yards and TDs, Judkins also leads the SEC and ranks top 10 nationally in total touchdowns (17) and rushing yards per game (123.0).
The Pike Road, Alabama, native anchors an Ole Miss rushing attack that that leads the SEC and ranks No. 3 nationally in rushing yards per game (261.6 ypg). With a bowl game still yet to be played, Ole Miss has already broken its single-season school record in rushing yards (3,139), previously set in 1957.
Judkins is having one of the greatest seasons ever by an SEC freshman running back. He currently ranks third all-time amongst conference freshmen in rushing yards, behind only Herschel Walker (1,616 yds, Georgia, 1980) and Nick Chubb (1,547, Georgia, 2014). The five-time SEC Freshman of the Week leads all freshmen nationally in rushing yards, rushing yards per game, rushing TDs, all-purpose yards, scoring and total TDs.
Judkins is only the second Rebel to register mutli 200-yard rushing performances in the same season, joining Kayo Dottley, who tallied three such games in 1949. His 214 rushing yards vs. Arkansas were the 10th-most all-time by a Rebel.
Past winners of the Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year include; Trevor Lawrence (Clemson) – 2018, Kenneth Gainwell (Memphis)-2019, Will Anderson Jr. (Alabama) – 2020 and Brock Bowers (Georgia) 2021.
