LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas redshirt-sophomore running back Daniel Hishaw Jr. is one of 15 student-athletes named as semifinalists for the 2023 Comeback Player of the Year award.

The award semifinalists were announced Thursday by College Sports Communicators (formerly CoSIDA) in partnership with The Associated Press and the Fiesta Bowl Organization.

Hishaw was originally on the preseason watch list for the award and later advanced to the midseason watch list after rushing for 262 yards and five touchdowns in five games last season before suffering a season-ending hip injury. Hishaw’s five rushing touchdowns led the team at the time of his injury.

The Moore, Oklahoma, native has been even better this season. As a redshirt-sophomore, Hishaw ranks second on the team with 599 rushing yards on 116 carries, rushing for eight touchdowns and averaging 5.2 yards per carry for the season. Hishaw ran for a career-high 134 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries against UCF on Oct. 7 and later added two touchdowns on 12 carries against Oklahoma on Oct. 28.

Hishaw is a key part of KU’s rushing attack which ranks No. 8 in FBS football averaging 211.3 yards per game and 5.5 yards per carry. He surpassed 1,000 career rushing yards this season and has rushed for 1,090 yards and 15 touchdowns in 25 career games, averaging 5.1 yards per carry for his career.

Since 2018, the award has recognized college football student-athletes from all divisions of college football for overcoming injury, illness, or other circumstances. At the conclusion of each season, in a vote by a panel of college football writers, editors, and sports information directors, three college football student-athletes are honored as Comeback Player of the Year Award winners at the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl.

Hishaw is joined by Blake Corum (Michigan), Jacob Dobbs (Holy Cross), CJ Donaldson (West Virginia), Justin Eboigbe (Alabama), Thomas Fidone II (Nebraska), Malachi Fields (Virginia), Davon Ferguson (Bowling Green), Myles Harden (South Dakota), Mike Hollins (Virginia), Brett Johnson (Cal), Devin Leary (Kentucky), Christian Mahogany (Boston College), Malik Robinson (Houston) and Mohamed Toure (Rutgers) as semifinalists.