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Home , Butkus Award, Doak Walker, Doak Walker Award, Maxwell Award

Contact: Jeff Lockhart (214) 768-4314 [email protected]

For Immediate Release July 15, 2020 2020 Award Candidates Announced - The PwC SMU Athletic Forum released today the preseason candidates for the 2020 . The Forum annually presents the award to the nation’s top college . 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.), Northwestern Justin Henderson (Sr.), Louisiana Jaret Patterson (Jr.), Buffalo David Bailey (Jr.), Boston College Tech Trey Ragas (Sr.), Louisiana-Lafayette Max Borghi (Jr.), Washington State Kylin Hill (Sr.), Mississippi State Miles Reed (Jr.), Hawaii Rakeem Boyd (Sr.), Arkansas George Holani (So.), Boise State Ronnie Rivers (Sr.), Fresno State Gary Brightwell (Sr.), Arizona Chuba Hubbard (Jr.), Oklahoma State Larry Rountree III (Sr.), Missouri Kennedy Brooks (Jr.), Oklahoma Caleb Huntley (Sr.), Ball State Mekhi Sargent (Sr.), Iowa Shamari Brooks (Sr.), Tulsa Mohamed Ibrahim (Jr.), Minnesota Stevie Scott III (Jr.), Indiana Christopher Brown, Jr. (Jr.), Cal Keaontay Ingram (Jr.), B.J. Smith (Sr.), Troy Journey Brown (Jr.), Penn State Deon Jackson (Sr.), Duke Isaiah Spiller (So.), Texas A&M Spencer Brown (Sr.), UAB Jermar Jefferson (Jr.), Oregon State SaRodorick Thompson (So.), Texas Noah Cain (So.), Penn State Josh Johnson (Sr.), ULM Tech Jamale Carothers (Jr.), Navy Amare Jones (Jr.), Tulane Toa Taua (Jr.), Nevada Stephen Carr (Sr.), USC Lopini Katoa (Jr.), BYU Corey Taylor II (Sr.), Tulsa Michael Carter (Sr.), North Carolina Wesley Kennedy III (Sr.), Georgia Xazavian Valladay (Jr.), Wyoming Andrew Clair (Jr.), Bowling Green Southern CJ Verdell (Jr.), Oregon Elijah Collins (So.), Michigan State JD King (Sr.), Georgia Southern Quardraiz Wadley (Sr.), UTEP James Cook (Jr.), Georgia Brenden Knox (Jr.), Marshall Gaej Walker (Sr.), Western Kentucky Jashaun Corbin (So.), Florida State Bryant Koback (Jr.), Toledo Kenneth Walker III (So.), Wake ReMahn Davis (So.), Temple Kobe Lewis (Jr.), Central Michigan Forest Travis Etienne (Sr.), Clemson Vavae Malepeai (Sr.), USC Jaylen Warren (Sr.), Utah State Demetric Felton (Sr.), UCLA Kevin Marks (Jr.), Buffalo Nakia Watson (So.), Wisconsin Alex Fontenot (Jr.), Colorado Jordan Mason (Jr.), Georgia Tech Zamir White (So.), Georgia Kenneth Gainwell (So.), Memphis Kevin Mensah (Sr.), Connecticut Charles Williams (Sr.), UNLV Tyler Goodson (So.), Iowa Dedrick Mills (Sr.), Nebraska Javonte Williams (Jr.), North Eric Gray (So.), Tennessee Elijah Mitchell (Sr.), Louisiana- Carolina Breece Hall (So.), Iowa State Lafayette D.J. Williams (So.), Auburn (Sr.), Alabama Marcel Murray (Jr.), Arkansas State Javian Hawkins (So.), Louisville Richard Newton (So.), Washington

2020 Doak Walker Candidate Announcement Page 2

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 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.

### Honoring the legends of sports for 31 years, the PwC SMU Athletic Forum celebrates outstanding success in athletics. Based in Dallas, the series features major figures from a variety of sports. The PwC SMU Athletic Forum includes four luncheons and the prestigious Doak Walker Award Presentation Banquet.

The Doak Walker Award is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA), which encompasses the most prestigious awards in college football. Founded in 1997, the NCFAA and its 25 awards now boast over 800 recipients, dating to 1935. Visit ncfaa.org and @NCFAA on Twitter to learn more about the association.

The members of the NCFAA are unveiling their preseason watch lists over a 12-day period this month. Fourteen of the association's 25 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:

Monday July 13: Bednarik Award Tuesday July 14: Davey O'Brien Award Wednesday July 15: Doak Walker Award Thursday July 16: Biletnikoff Award Friday July 17: Mackey Award Monday July 20: & Paycom Thorpe Award Tuesday July 21: Trophy & Wednesday July 22: Award & Award Thursday July 23: Hornung Award & Friday July 24:

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