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.), Northwestern

David Bailey (Jr.), Boston College

Max Borghi (Jr.), Washington State

Rakeem Boyd (Sr.), Arkansas

Gary Brightwell (Sr.), Arizona

Kennedy Brooks (Jr.), Oklahoma

Shamari Brooks (Sr.), Tulsa

Christopher Brown, Jr. (Jr.), Cal

Journey Brown (Jr.), Penn State

Spencer Brown (Sr.), UAB

Noah Cain (So.), Penn State

Jamale Carothers (Jr.), Navy

Stephen Carr (Sr.), USC

Michael Carter (Sr.), North Carolina

Andrew Clair (Jr.), Bowling Green

Elijah Collins (So.), Michigan State

James Cook (Jr.), Georgia

Jashaun Corbin (So.), Florida State

ReMahn Davis (So.), Temple

Travis Etienne (Sr.), Clemson

Demetric Felton (Sr.), UCLA

Alex Fontenot (Jr.), Colorado

Kenneth Gainwell (So.), Memphis

Tyler Goodson (So.), Iowa

Eric Gray (So.), Tennessee

Breece Hall (So.), Iowa State

Najee Harris (Sr.), Alabama

Javian Hawkins (So.), Louisville

Justin Henderson (Sr.), Louisiana Tech

Kylin Hill (Sr.), Mississippi State

George Holani (So.), Boise State

Chuba Hubbard (Jr.), Oklahoma State

Caleb Huntley (Sr.), Ball State

Mohamed Ibrahim (Jr.), Minnesota

Keaontay Ingram (Jr.), Texas

Deon Jackson (Sr.), Duke

Jermar Jefferson (Jr.), Oregon State

Josh Johnson (Sr.), ULM

Amare Jones (Jr.), Tulane

Lopini Katoa (Jr.), BYU

Wesley Kennedy III (Sr.), Georgia Southern

JD King (Sr.), Georgia Southern

Brenden Knox (Jr.), Marshall

Bryant Koback (Jr.), Toledo

Kobe Lewis (Jr.), Central Michigan

Vavae Malepeai (Sr.), USC

Kevin Marks (Jr.), Buffalo

Jordan Mason (Jr.), Georgia Tech

Kevin Mensah (Sr.), Connecticut

Dedrick Mills (Sr.), Nebraska

Elijah Mitchell (Sr.), Louisiana-Lafayette

Marcel Murray (Jr.), Arkansas State

Richard Newton (So.), Washington

Jaret Patterson (Jr.), Buffalo

Trey Ragas (Sr.), Louisiana-Lafayette

Miles Reed (Jr.), Hawaii

Ronnie Rivers (Sr.), Fresno State

Larry Rountree III (Sr.), Missouri

Mekhi Sargent (Sr.), Iowa

Stevie Scott III (Jr.), Indiana

B.J. Smith (Sr.), Troy

Isaiah Spiller (So.), Texas A&M

SaRodorick Thompson (So.), Texas Tech

Toa Taua (Jr.), Nevada

Corey Taylor II (Sr.), Tulsa

Xazavian Valladay (Jr.), Wyoming

CJ Verdell (Jr.), Oregon

Quardraiz Wadley (Sr.), UTEP

Gaej Walker (Sr.), Western Kentucky

Kenneth Walker III (So.), Wake Forest

Jaylen Warren (Sr.), Utah State

Nakia Watson (So.), Wisconsin

Zamir White (So.), Georgia

Charles Williams (Sr.), UNLV

Javonte Williams (Jr.), North Carolina

D.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 Association

The 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:

Mon., July 13: Bednarik Award

Tues., July 14: Davey O’Brien Award

Wed., July 15: Doak Walker Award

Thurs., July 16: Biletnikoff Award

Fri., July 17: Mackey Award

Mon., July 20: Butkus Award & Paycom Jim Thorpe Award

Tues., July 21: Bronko Nagurski Trophy & Outland Trophy

Wed., July 22: Lou Groza Award & Ray Guy Award

Thurs., July 23: Paul Hornung Award & Wuerffel Trophy

Fri., July 24: Maxwell Award