Aug. 4, 2009
DALLAS, Texas – Georgia Tech junior Jonathan Dwyer was named to the list of preseason candidates for the annual Doak Walker Award, which goes to the nation’s top collegiate running back, the Guaranty Bank SMU Athletic Forum announced Tuesday.
Dwyer, the 2008 ACC Player of the Year, led the ACC in rushing last season with 1,395 yards and 12 rushing touchdowns. Dwyer is the preseason choice of the media for the league’s player of the year honors in 2009.
The field of candidates includes Ball State’s MiQuale Lewis, who led the nation in rushing last season; California’s Jahvid Best, the returning leading rusher in the Pac 10; and Oklahoma State’s Kendal Hunter, the Big 12 Conference’s leading returning rusher.
The Guaranty Bank SMU Athletic Forum Board of Directors will select the semifinalists on November 11, and the Doak Walker Award National Selection Committee will cast votes to determine the finalists, who will be announced on November 23. The committee will cast a second vote beginning on November 30 to determine the recipient. The National Selection Committee consists of former NFL All-Pro and college All-America running backs, media members and selected special representatives.
The recipient of the 2009 Doak Walker Award will be announced live on ESPN on The Home Depot ESPNU College Football Awards on Thursday, December 10. The Doak Walker Award Presentation Banquet will be held at the Hilton Anatole Hotel in Dallas, Texas, on Friday, February 19, 2010.
The award, in its 20th year, 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.
2009 Doak Walker Award Candidates
Armando Allen (Jr.), Notre DameAndré Anderson (Sr.), TulaneReggie Arnold (Sr.), Arkansas StateBaron Batch (Jr.), Texas TechJahvid Best (Jr.), California, BerkeleyLeGarrette Blount (Sr.), OregonChris Brown (Sr.), OklahomaDonald Buckram (Jr.), UTEPJohn Clay (So.), WisconsinDaJuane Collins (Sr.), ToledoJeff Demps (So.), FloridaNoel Devine (Jr.), West VirginiaAndre Dixon (Sr.), ConnecticutShaun Draughn (Jr.), North CarolinaJonathan Dwyer (Jr.), Georgia TechJamelle Eugene (Sr.), North Carolina StateDarren Evans (So.), Virginia TechDamion Fletcher (Sr.), Southern MississippiToby Gerhart (Sr.), StanfordCyrus Gray (So.), Texas A&MNicolas (Nic) Grigsby (Jr.), ArizonaDuJuan Harris (Jr.), TroyRoy Helu, Jr. (Jr.), NebraskaDan Herron (So.), Ohio StateKendall Hunter (Jr.), Oklahoma StateMark Ingram (So.), AlabamaEugene Jarvis (Sr.), Kent StateMiQuale Lewis (Sr.), Ball StateDarius Marshall (Jr.), MarshallBrandon Minor (Sr.), MichiganDeMarco Murray (Jr.), OklahomaDaniel Porter (Sr.), Louisiana TechJacquizz Rodgers (So.), Oregon StateCharles Scott (Sr.), LSUDa'Rel Scott (Jr.), MarylandJake Sharp (Sr.), KansasMichael Smith (Sr.), ArkansasC.J. Spiller (Sr.), ClemsonJames Starks (Sr.), BuffaloCurtis Steele (Sr.), MemphisPhillip Tanner (Sr.), Middle Tennessee StateVai Taua (Jr.), NevadaJordan Todman (So.), ConnecticutJoseph Turner (Sr.), TCUBrandon West (Sr.), Western Michigan
