Aug. 4, 2009
Texas A&M running back Cyrus Gray was nominated for the 2009 Doak Walker Award, which is presented annually to the nation's top college running back, the Guaranty Bank SMU Athletic Forum announced Tuesday.
Gray, a sophomore from DeSoto, Texas, ranks as the Aggies' top returning rusher after gaining 363 yards on 75 carries as a true freshman in 2008. Already a record-setting kickoff returner, Gray compiled a school-record 1,169 yards on 49 returns last year while averaging a healthy 23.9 yards per attempt. He also set a freshman school record with 1,592 all-purpose yards.
The field of candidates for the Doak Walker Award includes the nation's leading returning rusher, (MiQuale Lewis, Ball State, as well as the leading returning rushers from the Pac 10 (Jahvid Best, California), the Big 12 (Kendall Hunter, Oklahoma State) and the ACC (Jonathan Dwyer, Georgia Tech).
The Guaranty Bank SMU Athletic Forum Board of Directors will select the semifinalists on November 11, and the Doak Walker Award National Selection Committee will cast votes to determine the finalists, which will be announced on November 23. The committee will cast a second vote beginning on November 30 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 2009 Doak Walker Award will be announced live on ESPN on The Home Depot ESPNU College Football Awards on Thursday, December 10. The Doak Walker Award Presentation Banquet will be held at the Hilton Anatole Hotel in Dallas, Texas, on Friday, February 19, 2010.
The award, in its 20th 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.
The complete list of candidates, who were nominated by their universities, follows:
Armando Allen (Jr.), Notre Dame
André Anderson (Sr.), Tulane
Reggie Arnold (Sr.), Arkansas State
Baron Batch (Jr.), Texas Tech
Jahvid Best (Jr.), California, Berkeley
LeGarrette Blount (Sr.), Oregon
Chris Brown (Sr.), Oklahoma
Donald Buckram (Jr.), UTEP
John Clay (So.), Wisconsin
DaJuane Collins (Sr.), Toledo
Jeff Demps (So.), Florida
Noel Devine (Jr.), West Virginia
Andre Dixon (Sr.), Connecticut
Shaun Draughn (Jr.), North Carolina
Jonathan Dwyer (Jr.), Georgia Tech
Jamelle Eugene (Sr.), North Carolina State
Darren Evans (So.), Virginia Tech
Damion Fletcher (Sr.), Southern Mississippi
Toby Gerhart (Sr.), Stanford
Cyrus Gray (So.), Texas A&M
Nicolas (Nic) Grigsby (Jr.), Arizona
DuJuan Harris (Jr.), Troy
Roy Helu, Jr. (Jr.), Nebraska
Dan Herron (So.), Ohio State
Kendall Hunter (Jr.), Oklahoma State
Mark Ingram (So.), Alabama
Eugene Jarvis (Sr.), Kent State
MiQuale Lewis (Sr.), Ball State
Darius Marshall (Jr.), Marshall
Brandon Minor (Sr.), Michigan
DeMarco Murray (Jr.), Oklahoma
Daniel Porter (Sr.), Louisiana Tech
Jacquizz Rodgers (So.), Oregon State
Charles Scott (Sr.), LSU
Da'Rel Scott (Jr.), Maryland
Jake Sharp (Sr.), Kansas
Michael Smith (Sr.), Arkansas
C.J. Spiller (Sr.), Clemson
James Starks (Sr.), Buffalo
Curtis Steele (Sr.), Memphis
Phillip Tanner (Sr.), Middle Tennessee State
Vai Taua (Jr.), Nevada
Jordan Todman (So.), Connecticut
Joseph Turner (Sr.), TCU
Brandon West (Sr.), Western Michigan