Rivers announced as candidate for Doak Walker Award

DALLAS - For the third time in as many years, senior running back Ronnie Rivers enters the 2021 season as a candidate for the Doak Walker Award. Rivers was announced Wednesday as a candidate for the award that is presented annually to the nation's top college running back.

Rivers is one of four Mountain West running backs on the list for the Doak Walker Award. The list features 2020 Doak Walker Award finalist Breece Hall from Iowa State. Last season as a sophomore, Hall led the nation in total rushing yards with 1,572 and was a first-team All-America selection. 2019 Doak Walker Award semifinalists Mohammed Ibrahim (Minnesota), Sincere McCormick (UTSA), Isaiah Spiller (Texas A&M) and Kyren Williams (Notre Dame) are all among the list of preseason candidates.

The Brentwood, Calif. native, who earned a spot on the Maxwell Award watch list earlier this week, enters his fifth season at Fresno State after utilizing the extra year of eligibility granted by the NCAA following the COVID-19 pandemic. He enters the upcoming season as the active FBS leader in touchdowns (44), ranks second in active all-purpose yardage (4,021) and seventh in active rushing yards (2,629).

Quick Facts on Rivers

2020 First Team All-Mountain West selection
Led the conference with 136.3 all-purpose yards per game in 2020
Finished the season second in the conference with an average of nine points per game and in touchdowns scored (9)
Rivers posted a total of 507 rushing yards on 100 carries, while adding 265 receiving yards on 27 catches. He totaled 818 all-purpose yards on the season.
Rivers finished the 2020 season tied for the program record for most touchdowns scored in a career (44)
The senior is also tied for the program record with 116 career pass receptions by a running back and is tied for third in the record books in all-time career rushing touchdowns with 35.
Rivers is just one of seven Bulldogs to ever reach 4,000 all-purpose yards in their career.
Rivers earned first team spots on the 2021 Athlon Sports Preseason All-MW Team and Phil Steele's Preseason All-MW Team

Prior to Rivers picking up a spot on the annual preseason list the past three years, the last Bulldog to earn recognitions from the Doak Walker Award was Marteze Waller in 2015. Waller concluded his Fresno State career as the fourth-leading rusher in school history with 3,108 yards.

About the Doak Walker Award
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 in November. The committee will cast a second vote in December 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 2020 Doak Walker Award will be announced live on The Home Depot College Football Awards.

The award 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.

With the announcement of the Doak Walker Award preseason list on Wednesday, watch list season is in full swing as various NCFAA watch lists will be released from July 19-30. For the full list of awards and a calendar of release dates, visit ncfaa.org.

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Rivers announced as candidate for Doak Walker Award

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