The PwC SMU Athletic Forum announced today that Clemson running back Travis Etienne has been named as one of 76 players on the watch list for the Doak Walker Award. Additional information from award organizers is included below.
DALLAS – The PwC SMU Athletic Forum released today the preseason candidates for the 2020 Doak Walker Award. The Forum annually presents the award to the nation’s top college running back.
2019 Doak Walker Award finalist Chuba Hubbard (Oklahoma State) and 2018 finalist Travis Etienne (Clemson) lead the list of preseason candidates. Last season as a sophomore, Hubbard led the nation in rushing with 2,094 yards. Etienne returns for his senior season as the two-time ACC Player of the Year and Clemson’s all-time leading rusher. Memphis sophomore Kenneth Gainwell joins Etienne and Hubbard as the only returning semifinalists from 2019.
University athletic departments nominate candidates for the award and can continue to do so through October. The complete list of candidates is below.
Drake Anderson (So.), NorthwesternDavid Bailey (Jr.), Boston CollegeMax Borghi (Jr.), Washington StateRakeem Boyd (Sr.), ArkansasGary Brightwell (Sr.), ArizonaKennedy Brooks (Jr.), OklahomaShamari Brooks (Sr.), TulsaChristopher Brown, Jr. (Jr.), CalJourney Brown (Jr.), Penn StateSpencer Brown (Sr.), UABNoah Cain (So.), Penn StateJamale Carothers (Jr.), NavyStephen Carr (Sr.), USCMichael Carter (Sr.), North CarolinaAndrew Clair (Jr.), Bowling GreenElijah Collins (So.), Michigan StateJames Cook (Jr.), GeorgiaJashaun Corbin (So.), Florida StateReMahn Davis (So.), TempleTravis Etienne (Sr.), ClemsonDemetric Felton (Sr.), UCLAAlex Fontenot (Jr.), ColoradoKenneth Gainwell (So.), MemphisTyler Goodson (So.), IowaEric Gray (So.), TennesseeBreece Hall (So.), Iowa StateNajee Harris (Sr.), AlabamaJavian Hawkins (So.), LouisvilleJustin Henderson (Sr.), Louisiana TechKylin Hill (Sr.), Mississippi StateGeorge Holani (So.), Boise StateChuba Hubbard (Jr.), Oklahoma StateCaleb Huntley (Sr.), Ball StateMohamed Ibrahim (Jr.), MinnesotaKeaontay Ingram (Jr.), TexasDeon Jackson (Sr.), DukeJermar Jefferson (Jr.), Oregon StateJosh Johnson (Sr.), ULMAmare Jones (Jr.), TulaneLopini Katoa (Jr.), BYUWesley Kennedy III (Sr.), Georgia SouthernJD King (Sr.), Georgia SouthernBrenden Knox (Jr.), MarshallBryant Koback (Jr.), ToledoKobe Lewis (Jr.), Central MichiganVavae Malepeai (Sr.), USCKevin Marks (Jr.), BuffaloJordan Mason (Jr.), Georgia TechKevin Mensah (Sr.), ConnecticutDedrick Mills (Sr.), NebraskaElijah Mitchell (Sr.), Louisiana-LafayetteMarcel Murray (Jr.), Arkansas StateRichard Newton (So.), WashingtonJaret Patterson (Jr.), BuffaloTrey Ragas (Sr.), Louisiana-LafayetteMiles Reed (Jr.), HawaiiRonnie Rivers (Sr.), Fresno StateLarry Rountree III (Sr.), MissouriMekhi Sargent (Sr.), IowaStevie Scott III (Jr.), IndianaB.J. Smith (Sr.), TroyIsaiah Spiller (So.), Texas A&MSaRodorick Thompson (So.), Texas TechToa Taua (Jr.), NevadaCorey Taylor II (Sr.), TulsaXazavian Valladay (Jr.), WyomingCJ Verdell (Jr.), OregonQuardraiz Wadley (Sr.), UTEPGaej Walker (Sr.), Western KentuckyKenneth Walker III (So.), Wake ForestJaylen Warren (Sr.), Utah StateNakia Watson (So.), WisconsinZamir White (So.), GeorgiaCharles Williams (Sr.), UNLVJavonte Williams (Jr.), North CarolinaD.J. Williams (So.), Auburn
The PwC SMU Athletic Forum Board of Directors will name ten semifinalists in November, and three finalists, as voted on by the Doak Walker Award National Selection Committee, will be announced in November. The committee will cast a second vote in December to determine the recipient. The National Selection Committee consists of past recipients, former NFL All-Pro and college All-America running backs, media members and selected special representatives.
The recipient of the 2020 Doak Walker Award will be announced live on The Home Depot College Football Awards.
The award is named for SMU’s three-time All-America running back Doak Walker. It is the only major collegiate award that requires all candidates to be in good academic standing and on schedule to graduate within one year of other students of the same classification.
About the National College Football Awards AssociationThe Doak Walker Award is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA), which encompasses college football’s most prestigious awards. Founded in 1997, the NCFAA and its 25 awards now boast over 800 recipients, dating to 1935. Visit ncfaa.org to learn more about the association.
The members of the NCFAA are unveiling their preseason watch lists over a two-week period this month. Fourteen of the association’s awards select a preseason watch list and the NCFAA has spearheaded a coordinated effort to promote each award’s preseason candidates. Following is the complete 2020 preseason watch list calendar:
