LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas redshirt-sophomore running back Daniel Hishaw Jr. is one of 50 college football student-athletes currently under consideration for the 2023 Comeback Player of the Year Award.

The midseason Watch List was announced Wednesday by College Sports Communicators (formerly CoSIDA) in association with The Associated Press and the Fiesta Bowl Organization. 

Hishaw was originally on the preseason list for the award after rushing for 262 yards and five touchdowns in five games last season before suffering a season-ending hip injury. He had at least 50 rushing yards in each of the first four games and averaged 6.0 yards per carry for the season.

The Moore, Oklahoma, native has continued his exceptional pace during his redshirt-sophomore season at Kansas. Hishaw is second on the team with 413 rushing yards on 60 carries, including six touchdowns scored through the first half of the 2023 season. He’s coming off the most productive game of his career as he carried the ball 19 times for 134 yards and two touchdowns Saturday against UCF. 

Through six games, Hishaw is tied for the team lead with six rushing touchdowns, which also leads the Big 12, and he’s second in the league and No. 12 nationally averaging 6.9 yards per carry. He’s a key part of KU’s rushing offense, which is second in the Big 12 and No. 6 in FBS football with an average of 232.3 yards per game.

Hishaw is one of 50 student-athletes representing 43 different schools on the updated Watch List and he’s one of seven players from the Big 12 remaining on the list.

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.