Dowdle Named to Doak Walker Award Watch List

July 18, 2018

University of South Carolina junior running back Rico Dowdle has been named to the 2018 preseason Doak Walker Award watch list, the PwC SMU Athletic Forum announced today. The Forum annually presents the award to the nation’s top college running back.

Dowdle, a 6-0, 215-pounder from Asheville, N.C., is expected to be back at full strength this fall after suffering a broken leg midway through the 2017 season. He became the 44th player in school history to rush for 1,000 yards in his career while averaging over five yards per carry during his first two years on the Carolina campus. Dowdle owns three 100-yard rushing games, including a career-best 226-yard effort against Western Carolina in 2016, the sixth-biggest single-game rushing day in school history.

The PwC SMU Athletic Forum Board of Directors will name ten semifinalists in November, and three finalists, as voted on by the Doak Walker Award National Selection Committee, will be announced on November 20. The committee will cast a second vote beginning November 26 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 2018 Doak Walker Award will be announced live on The Home Depot College Football Awards on Thursday, December 6 on ESPN.

The award, which will name its 29th recipient in 2018, 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 Doak Walker Award is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA), which encompasses college football’s most prestigious awards.