Ohio State's J.K. Dobbins Laughs Off Award Frustrations
J.K. Dobbins would rather not answer either question, but he doesn't mind them being asked.
The fact that he won't answer is the answer, of course, which his smile and laughter give away.
"Were you overlooked in the post-season awards circuit?"
"Are you motivated by being overlooked?"
The Ohio State tailback has enough experience to know that responding affirmatively to the former will create an impression he's complaining, which he isn't, or believes himself superior to players honored with awards he didn't receive, which Dobbins surely isn't doing.
So how should he answer, other than with a good-humored receptivity that answers eloquently.
"Jonathan Taylor is a great player," Dobbins said, smiling, referring to the Wisconsin senior who both Big Ten running back of the year and the Doak Walker Award as the nation's best running back. I was happy for him. I mean, that's a tough question."
Taylor cracked the 5,000-yard career mark, and is the Badgers' feature back.
He's been a fixture in conversations about the best players at his position since a freshman season in which he rushed for a record 1,977 yards.
Dobbins, though, out-rushed Taylor in the Big Ten title game that year by more than 100 yards and was the game's MVP.
This year, Dobbins gained 163 yards on 20 carries in OSU's 38-7 regular-season win over Wisconsin.
Taylor gained 52 yards on 20 carries that day.
In the Big Ten Championship game, Taylor had a big first half, but finished with 148 yards on 20 carries to Dobbins' 172 yards on 33 attempts.
Two days later, Taylor won the league's top honor for running backs, and a week later, he won the Doak Walker.
For the year, Taylor edged Dobbins in yards (1,909 to 1,829) and touchdowns (21 to 20) on 16 more attempts.
Clearly, both backs had great years.
Taylor's reputation coming into the season probably didn't hurt him with voters.
Dobbins, despite two 1,000-yard seasons as a freshman and sophomore, didn't have Taylor's profile in August. Still, he thought his numbers might result in a bit more post-season hardware.
"I thought I had a good shot," Dobbins said. "I guess I didn't. The main thing for me is I know what I did. I won a Big Ten championship. My team won every matchup.
"The trophies would have been cool, for my grandkids and stuff like that. Deep down, I know that I had a great season, so having that validation of the trophies would have meant a lot. I'll still keep moving and keep getting better."
Showing well against Clemson in the Fiesta Bowl would go a long way toward advancing OSU to the national championship game, which is clearly one of Dobbins' goals.
He made first-team All-Big Ten for the first time this season and also received second-team All-American honors from The Associated Press.
Clemson's Travis Etienne was the selection beside Dobbins on the AP second-team.
"We're both here in the Fiesta Bowl," Etienne said. "We're both where we wanted to be at the end of the season...I don't feel like we've been overlooked. You can't put your full focus on those things because at the end of the day, they don't matter.
"I didn't win an individual award, but I'm here with my team at the Fiesta Bowl, which is what you dream of at the beginning of the season."
Clemson likely wouldn't be here without Etienne, who averaged 8.2 yards per-carry, surpassed 100 yards rushing in eight games and received only six fourth-quarter carries all season because of Clemson's dominance.
Likewise, without Dobbins, Ohio State wouldn't be such a viable threat to win the national championship -- an award that in the Playoff era isn't subject to the whims of a vote.
"I met a few of my goals that I wanted to," Dobbins said. "I still have a few of my goals I want to accomplish. Hopefully, Saturday, I can accomplish some of them and keep going."
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