Syracuse Football: ‘Cuse now has RB, QB and WR on national watch lists

LeQuint Allen Jr., who is expected to assume the starting running-back duties for Syracuse football in the 2023 campaign, garnered some national preseason love on Wednesday.

The preseason watch list for the 2023 Doak Walker Award, which is presented annually to the country’s top running back, has gotten disclosed, and Allen is one of 75 RBs on this list, according to SU Athletics and other media reports.

The 6-foot, 195-pound Allen, a sophomore who hails from Millville, N.J., showed a lot of potential in the 2022 term in limited action as the primary backup to former Orange All-American running back Sean Tucker, who headed to the pros.

Not too long ago, it was unclear whether Allen would compete for Syracuse football in the upcoming stanza, as he had filed a lawsuit against Syracuse University earlier this summer in hopes of overturning a season-long suspension.

Allen and SU, thankfully, reached a settlement last month, and he will be donning a ‘Cuse uniform in 2023.

Syracuse football RB LeQuint Allen Jr. is on the preseason watch list for a major award.

With Allen on the preseason watch list for the 2023 Doak Walker Award, that represents the third year in a row that an Orange player has made the cut. Tucker was on the preseason watch list in 2021 and 2022, and he was also a semifinalist for the 2021 Doak Walker Award.

In the 2022 season, when the ‘Cuse went 7-6 overall and advanced to a bowl game, Allen ran 41 times for 274 yards and one rushing touchdown. He also caught 17 passes for 117 yards and one receiving touchdown.

National and Atlantic Coast Conference pundits appear to be mixed in their preseason predictions for Syracuse football in 2023, with some thinking the Orange is in line for a solid year, while others are not as optimistic.

Regardless, Allen’s inclusion on the preseason watch list for this year’s Doak Walker Award means that the ‘Cuse now has a quarterback, a receiver and a running back on preseason national watch lists, per SU Athletics. That’s pretty cool.

Earlier this week, starting quarterback Garrett Shrader was named to the preseason watch list for the 2023 Davey O’Brien Award, which goes out every year to the top signal-caller in college football.

The 6-foot-4, 225-pound Shrader, a senior out of Charlotte, N.C., is also on the preseason watch lists for the 2023 Maxwell Award (national player of the year) and the 2023 Wuerffel Trophy (top honor for community service).

Syracuse football star tight end/wide receiver Oronde Gadsden II is on the 2023 preseason watch lists for the Maxwell Award and this year’s Biletnikoff Award, which will honor college football’s most outstanding FBS receiver.

The 6-foot-5, 223-pound Gadsden, a junior from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., is also on several preseason All-ACC first teams.