2008 Doak Walker Award Candidates Announced

           DALLAS, TEXAS - The Guaranty Bank SMU Athletic Forum announced today candidates for the 2008 Doak Walker Award. The award is presented annually to the nation’s top college running back.

           The field of candidates includes the nation’s leading returning rusher, Eugene Jarvis, from Kent State. Other candidates include the leading returning rushers from the Big 10 (Chris Wells, Ohio State); the Big 12 (Marlon Lucky, Nebraska); and the SEC (Knowshon Moreno, Georgia).

                        The complete list of candidates, who were nominated by their universities, follows:

Tarrion Adams (Sr.), Tulsa

Reggie Arnold (Jr.), Arkansas State

Kahlil Bell (Sr.), UCLA

Andre Brown (Sr.), North Carolina State

Donald Brown (Jr.), Connecticut

Donald Buckram (So.), UTEP

James Davis (Sr.), Clemson

Mike Davis (Sr.), South Carolina

Andre Dixon (Jr.), Connecticut

Anthony Dixon (Jr.), Mississippi State

Jonathan Dwyer (So.), Georgia Tech

Jamelle Eugene (Jr.), North Carolina State

Tyrell Fenroy (Sr.), Louisiana Lafayette

Rodney Ferguson (Sr.), New Mexico

Damion Flecther (Jr.), Southern Mississippi

Arian Foster (Sr.), Tennessee

Mike Goodson (Jr.), Texas A&M

Keegan Herring (Sr.), Arizona State

P.J. Hill (Jr.), Wisconsin

Deonte Jackson (So.), Idaho

Terrell Jackson (Sr.), UTEP

Eugene Jarvis (Jr.), Kent State

Ian Johnson (Sr.), Boise State

Eric Kettani (Sr.), Naval Academy

Jorvorskie Lane (Sr.), Texas A&M

Luke Lippincott (Sr.), Nevada

Greg Little (So.), North Carolina

Marlon Lucky (Sr.), Nebraska

Darrell Mack (Sr.), Utah

DeMyron Martin (Sr.), SMU

LeSean McCoy (So.), Pittsburgh

Knowshon Moreno (So.), Georgia

DeMarco Murray (So.), Oklahoma

Javon Ringer (Sr.), Michigan State

Kory Sheets (Sr.), Purdue

Michael Smith (Jr.), Arkansas

C.J. Spiller (Jr.), Clemson

James Starks (Jr.), Buffalo

Frank Summers (Sr.), UNLV

Tyrell Sutton (Sr.), Northwestern

Joseph Turner (Jr.), TCU

Harvey Unga (So.), BYU

Chris Wells (Jr.), Ohio State

           The Guaranty Bank SMU Athletic Forum Board of Directors will select the semifinalists on November 10, and the Doak Walker Award National Selection Committee will cast votes to determine the finalists, who will be announced on November 24. The committee will cast a second vote beginning on December 1 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 2008 Doak Walker Award will be announced live on ESPN on The Home Depot ESPNU College Football Awards on Thursday, December 11. The Doak Walker Award Presentation Banquet will be held at The Hilton Anatole Hotel in Dallas, Texas, on Friday, February 6, 2009.

            The award, in its 19^th 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.

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Honoring the legends of sports for 20 years, the Guaranty Bank SMU Athletic Forum celebrates outstanding success in athletics.  Based in Dallas, the series features major figures from a variety of sports.  The Guaranty Bank SMU Athletic Forum includes four luncheons and the prestigious Doak Walker Award Presentation Banquet.

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