Darren McFadden Named to Doak Walker Award Watch List
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Arkansas tailback Darren McFadden is one of 50 candidates on the pre-season watch list for the Doak Walker Award it was announced by The Guaranty Bank SMU Athletic Forum on Thursday. McFadden is one of 11 sophomores to be included on the watch list for the award given to the nation’s best running back.
“I think people had the opportunity to get a glimpse of what Darren could do last season,” Arkansas head coach Houston Nutt said. “He is a special player that can do a lot of things with the help of his teammates. He is working hard to get back on the field. We are looking forward to his return.”
McFadden became only the seventh running back in Southeastern Conference history to rush for more than 1,000 yards as a freshman racking up 1,113 yards last season. The consensus freshman All-American and honorable mention All-American was also named as a first-team All-Southeastern Conference running back and the SEC Freshman of the Year in 2005.
McFadden has already earned pre-season All-America honors and has been named to the watch lists for two other national awards, The Maxwell Award and the Walter Camp Player of the Year award.
The Guaranty Bank SMU Athletic Forum Board of Directors will select the semifinalists on Nov. 15, and the Doak Walker Award National Selection Committee will vote to determine the finalists on Nov. 16. The committee will cast a second vote on Nov. 27 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 2006 Doak Walker Award will be announced live on ESPN along with other NCFAA member awards on The Home Depot College Football Awards on Thursday, Dec. 7. The Doak Walker Award Presentation Banquet will be held at The Hilton Anatole Hotel in Dallas, Texas, on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2007.
Former USC running back Reggie Bush, first-round draft pick of the New Orleans Saints, won the 2005 Doak Walker Award.
The award, in its 17th 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.
2006 Doak Walker Award Watch List
Josh Allen (Sr.), Maryland
Micah Andrews (Jr.), Wake Forest
Toney Baker (So.), NC State
Lance Ball (Jr.), Maryland
Adam Ballard (Jr.), Navy
Kyle Bell (Jr.), Colorado State
Yvenson Bernard (Jr.), Oregon State
Lorenzo Booker (Sr.), Florida State
Ahmad Bradshaw (Jr.), Marshall
Aaron Brown (So.), TCU
Andre Brown (So.), NC State
Curtis Brown (Sr.), BYU
Thomas Brown (Jr.), Georgia
Michael Bush (Sr.), Louisville
Hugh Charles (Jr.), Colorado
Tashard Choice (Jr.), Georgia Tech
Kenneth Darby (Sr.), Alabama
James Davis (So.), Clemson
BenJarvis Green-Ellis (Jr.), Mississippi
Lynell Hamilton (Sr.), San Diego State
Mike Hart (Jr.), Michigan
Keegan Herring (So.), Arizona State
Stevie Hicks (Sr.), Iowa State
Kenny Irons (Sr.), Auburn
Brian Leonard (Sr.), Rutgers
Rafael Little (Jr.), Kentucky
Kregg Lumpkin (Jr.), Georgia
Marshawn Lynch (Jr.), California
Chris Markey (Jr.), UCLA
DeMyron Martin (So.), SMU
Darren McFadden (So.), Arkansas
Ronnie McGill (Sr.), North Carolina
Robert Merrill (Sr.), TCU
Tyrone Moss (Sr.), Miami (FL)
Brandon Murphy (Jr.), Miami (Ohio)
Branden Ore (Jr.), Virginia Tech
Adrian Peterson (Jr.), Oklahoma
Antonio Pittman (Jr.), Ohio State
Kory Sheets (Jr.), Purdue
Steve Slaton (So.), West Virginia
Ontario Sneed (So.), Central Michigan
Tyrell Sutton (So.), Northwestern
Jamario Thomas (Jr.), North Texas
Marcus Thomas (So.), UTEP
Pierre Thomas (Sr.), Illinois
Justin Vincent (Sr.), LSU
Darius Walker (Jr.), Notre Dame
Garrett Wolfe (Sr.), Northern Illinois
Albert Young (Jr.), Iowa
Selvin Young (Sr.), Texas
