July 15, 2011

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The PricewaterhouseCoopers SMU Athletic Forum selected South Carolina sophomore running back Marcus Lattimore as one of the 51 candidates for the 2011 Doak Walker Award, given to the nation’s top running back for the last 21 years.

Lattimore broke South Carolina’s single-season touchdown mark with 17 and set the program’s freshman rushing record with 1,197 yards during his outstanding 2010 season. The unanimous pick for National Freshman of the Year, Lattimore also earned SEC Freshman of the Year honors from the league’s coaches and the Associated Press. A 2010 first-team All-American according to CollegeFootballNews.com, he totaled 1,609 all-purpose yards, the most on the Gamecocks’ roster.

This adds to the preseason accolades for the Duncan, S.C., sophomore, as Lattimore made the 2011 SEC Coaches Preseason All-SEC first team and Phil Steele’s second-team preseason All-America listing. Lattimore was among three Gamecocks named to the Maxwell Award watch list, given to the most outstanding college football player.

The prestigious Doak Walker Award was created in 1989 to recognize the nation’s premier running back for his accomplishments on the field, achievement in the classroom and citizenship in the community. It is the only major collegiate football 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. It is named for SMU’s three-time All-American running back. The award is a member of the National College Football Awards Association.

South Carolina opens the 2011 season on Sat., Sept. 3 against East Carolina at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C.

2011 Doak Walker Award Candidate List

Alvester Alexander (Jr.), Wyoming
Victor Anderson (Sr.), Louisville
Keola Antolin (Sr.), Arizona
Edwin Baker (Jr.), Michigan State
Montee Ball (Jr.), Wisconsin
Vick Ballard (Sr.), Mississippi State
Bryce Beall (Sr.), Houston
Duane Bennett (Sr.), Minnesota
Brandon Bolden (Sr.), Ole Miss
Rex Burkhead (Jr.), Nebraska
Asher Clark (Sr.), Air Force
Marcus Coker (So.), Iowa
Lennon Creer (Sr.), Louisiana Tech
Orleans Darkwa (So.), Tulane
Knile Davis (Jr.), Arkansas
Jeff Demps (Sr.), Florida
JJ Di Luigi (Sr.), BYU
Lance Dunbar (Sr.), North Texas
Michael Dyer (So.), Auburn
Andre Ellington (Jr.), Clemson
Jason Ford (Sr.), Illinois
Johnathan Franklin (Jr.), UCLA
Ray Graham (Jr.), Pittsburgh
Cyrus Gray (Sr.), Texas A&M
Montel Harris (Sr.), Boston College
Ronnie Hillman (So.), San Diego State
LaMichael James (Jr.), Oregon
Marcus Lattimore (So.), South Carolina
Zach Line (Jr.), SMU
Doug Martin (Sr.), Boise State
Sam McGuffie (Jr.), Rice
Davin Meggett (Sr.), Maryland
Christine Michael (Jr.), Texas A&M
Lamar Miller (So.), Miami
Alfred Morris (Sr.), Florida Atlantic
Isaiah Pead (Sr.), Cincinnati
Chris Polk (Jr.), Washington
Tauren Poole (Sr.), Tennessee
Bobby Rainey (Sr.), Western Kentucky
Trent Richardson (Jr.), Alabama
Pat Shed (Sr.), UAB
Rodney Stewart (Sr.), Colorado
Stepfan Taylor (Jr.), Stanford
Alexander Teich (Sr.), Navy
Adonis Thomas (Sr.), Toledo
Matthew Tucker (Jr.), TCU
Robert Turbin (Jr.), Utah State
Ed Wesley (Jr.), TCU
James White (So.), Wisconsin
David Wilson (Jr.), Virginia Tech
Cierre Wood (Jr.), Notre Dame