Illinois‘ Mikel LeShoure, Wisconsin’s John Clay, and Notre Dame‘s Armando Allen (click their respective names for profiles/exclusive interviews with each running back) have been named to the list of 49 candidates for the Doak Walker Award, presented annually to the nation’s top college running back.
Clay, the reigning Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year, led the Big Ten and ranked eighth in the country with 1,517 rushing yards in 2009. His 18 rushing touchdowns also led the Big Ten and tied for seventh in the nation.
Clay who has also been named to the preseason Watch Lists for the Walter Camp Award and Maxwell Awards. He was also selected as a Playboy All-American. It’s the second straight year he’s been named to the Doak Walker Award Watch List. Ron Dayne is the only Wisconsin player to win the Doak Walker Award, bringing home the trophy in 1999. Dayne was also a finalist for the award in 1998 while Anthony Davis (2001), Brian Calhoun (2005) and P.J. Hill (2006) have all been semifinalists.
Wisconsin players now appear on the preseason Watch Lists for 16 major individual awards. The Badgers, ranked No. 12 in both the Associated Press and USA Today/Coaches polls, open their season on Sept. 4 at UNLV.
Illinois junior Mikel Leshoure (Champaign, Ill.) was one of five Big Ten running backs (he’s joined by Ohio State’s co-starters Dan “Boom” Herron and Brandon Saine, as well as Penn State’s Evan Royster) named to the award’s candidate list.
Leshoure averaged 6.8 yards per carry in 2009, best among BCS conference running backs with at least 100 carries. He rushed for 734 yards and five touchdowns on 108 carries, while catching 14 passes for 177 yards and two scores. He led Illinois in rushing, scoring and all-purpose yards, and finished strong with 571 rushing yards and a 7.2 ypc average in his final six games of the year.
The award, in its 21st year, is named for SMU’s three-time All-American 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.
Here’s the entire list:
Anthony Allen (Sr.), Georgia Tech
Armando Allen (Sr.), Notre Dame
Victor Anderson (Jr.), Louisville
Jeremy Avery (Sr.), Boise State
Baron Batch (Sr.), Texas Tech
Donald Buckram (Sr.), UTEP
John Clay (Jr.), Wisconsin
Lennon Creer (Jr.), Louisiana Tech
Jeff Demps (Jr.), Florida
Noel Devine (Sr.), West Virginia
Lance Dunbar (Jr.), UNT
Darren Evans (Jr.), Virginia Tech
Mario Fannin (Sr.), Auburn
Jay Finley (Sr.), Baylor
Frank Goodin (Sr.), Louisiana Monroe
Cyrus Gray (Jr.), Texas A&M
Montel Harris (Jr.), Boston College
Dan Herron (Jr.), Ohio State
Kendall Hunter (Sr.), Oklahoma State
Mark Ingram (Jr.), Alabama
Eugene Jarvis (Sr.), Kent State
Dennis Johnson (Jr.), Arkansas
Mikel Leshoure (Jr.), Illinois
Dion Lewis (So.), Pittsburgh
MiQuale Lewis (Sr.), Ball State
Derrick Locke (Sr.), Kentucky
Christine Michael (So.), Texas A&M
Alfred Morris (Jr.), Florida Atlantic
Richard Murphy (Sr.), LSU
Vince Murray (Sr.), Navy
DeMarco Murray (Sr.), Oklahoma
Bernard Pierce (So.), Temple
Bilal Powell (Sr.), Louisville
Alexander Robinson (Sr.), Iowa State
Jacquizz Rodgers (Jr.), Oregon State
Evan Royster (Sr.), Penn State
Brandon Saine (Sr.), Ohio State
Da’Rel Scott (Sr.), Maryland
Chad Spann (Sr.), Northern Illinois
Rodney Stewart (Jr.), Colorado
Phillip Tanner (Sr.), Middle Tennessee
Vai Taua (Sr.), Nevada
Daniel Thomas (Sr.), Kansas State
Jordan Todman (Jr.), Connecticut
Matthew Tucker (So.), TCU
Derrick Washington (Sr.), Missouri
Ed Wesley (So.), TCU
Eddie Wide (Sr.), Utah
Ryan Williams (So.), Virginia Tech
