DALLAS — Texas A&M senior running back Tra Carson was named a preseason candidate for the 2015 Doak Walker Award, which is presented annually to the nation’s top college running back, the PwC SMU Athletic Forum announced on Thursday.
Carson, from Texarkana, Texas, was the Aggies’ rushing leader with 581 yards and five scores on a team-high 124 carries last season. He closed out 2014 by earning Offensive MVP honors in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl after gaining 133 rushing yards on 25 carries, both career highs, in the Aggies’ win over West Virginia. For his Texas A&M career, Carson has averaged nearly five yards per carry and is nearing the 1,000-yard plateau in rushing yards (910 on 186 carries).
The PwC SMU Athletic Forum Board of Directors will name ten semifinalists on November 18, and the Doak Walker Award National Selection Committee will cast votes to determine the three finalists, who will be announced on November 24. The committee will cast a second vote beginning November 30 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 2015 Doak Walker Award will be announced live on The Home Depot College Football Awards on Thursday, December 10, on ESPN. The Doak Walker Award Presentation Banquet will be held in Dallas in early 2016.
The award, which will name its 26th recipient in 2015, 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.
2015 Doak Walker Award preseason candidates
Leon Allen (Sr.), Western Kentucky
Devontae Booker (Sr.), Utah
Matt Breida (Jr.), Georgia Southern
Brandon Burks (Sr.), Troy
Jordan Canzeri (Sr.), Iowa
Tra Carson (Sr.), Texas A&M
Nick Chubb (So.), Georgia
Corey Clement (Jr.), Wisconsin
Alex Collins (Jr.), Arkansas
James Conner (Jr.), Pittsburgh
Marcus Cox (Jr.), Appalachian State
Justin Davis (Jr.), USC
Matt Dayes (Jr.), North Carolina State
Kenneth Dixon (Sr.), Louisiana Tech
Ezekiel Elliott (Jr.), Ohio State
Kenneth Farrow (Sr.), Houston
Josh Ferguson (Sr.), Illinois
Tarean Folston (Jr.), Notre Dame
Leonard Fournette (So.), LSU
Jarvion Franklin (So.), Western Michigan
Royce Freeman (So.), Oregon
Wayne Gallman (So.), Clemson
Michael Gordon (Sr.), Arkansas State
Johnathan Gray (Sr.), Texas
Aaron Green (Sr.), TCU
Travis Greene (Sr.), Bowling Green
Russell Hansbrough (Sr.), Missouri
Derrick Henry (Jr.), Alabama
Jon Hilliman (So.), Boston College
Jordan Howard (Jr.), Indiana
Kareem Hunt (Jr.), Toledo
LaJuan Hunt (So.), Utah State
Darius Jackson (Sr.), Eastern Michigan
Don Jackson (Sr.), Nevada
Justin Jackson (So.), Northwestern
Paul James (Sr.), Rutgers
Devon Johnson (Sr.), Marshall
Aaron Jones (Jr.), UTEP
Daniel Lasco (Sr.), California
Ray Lawry (So.), Old Dominion
Shock Linwood (Jr.), Baylor
Robert Lowe (Sr.), Texas State
Akeel Lynch (Jr.), Penn State
Marlon Mack (So.), South Florida
Tre Madden (Sr.), USC
Christian McCaffrey (So.), Stanford
Elijah McGuire (Jr.), Louisiana-Lafayette
Samaje Perine (So.), Oklahoma
Paul Perkins (Jr.), UCLA
Christian Powell (Sr.), Colorado
Shaquille Powell (Sr.), Duke
Donnel Pumphrey (Jr.), San Diego State
Demario Richard (So.), Arizona State
Ashton Shumpert (Jr.), Mississippi State
William Stanback (Jr.), UCF
Chris Swain (Sr.), US Navy
Anthone Taylor (Sr.), Buffalo
Jahad Thomas (Jr.), Temple
Shane Tucker (Jr.), Middle Tennessee
Thomas Tyner (Jr.), Oregon
Marteze Waller (Sr.), Fresno State
DeAndre Washington (Sr.), Texas Tech
Dwayne Washington (Jr.), Washington
Ralph Webb (So.), Vanderbilt
Shaun Wick (Sr.), Wyoming
Brandon Wilds (Sr.), South Carolina
Jamaal Williams (Sr.), BYU
Jonathan Williams (Sr.), Arkansas
Nick Wilson (So.), Arizona
Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics