Mountain West Football: Three Named To 2019 Doak Walker Award Watch List
The list of players in the running to be the nation’s best running back includes three from Mountain West football… and one notable name that’s MIA.
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A few dark horse candidates.
Watch list season continues today with the release of the Doak Walker Award watch list. Given annually to the nation’s best running back, there are three names from the Mountain West that should make a significant impact this fall.
Nevada’s Toa Taua made an appearance on the Maxwell Award watch list and lands here, too, after breaking out for the Wolf Pack in his first season with the team. He finished 11th among FBS freshmen with 872 yards and averaged 4.97 yards per carry, scoring seven total touchdowns.
Ronnie Rivers, Fresno State’s junior running back, ended last season with a flourish. Despite appearing in just 11 games and making only six starts, he scored the winning touchdown in the Mountain West championship game, ran for 212 yards in a Las Bowl victory against Arizona State, and is the only returning Mountain West player who averaged over 100 all-purpose yards per game in 2018.
Dayton Furuta, meanwhile, provided a bruising change of pace for Hawaii’s high-flying run-and-shoot offense in 2018. He only had 93 carries, but he did run for 459 yards (4.94 yards per carry) and scored three total touchdowns.
The most notable name missing from the Mountain West, however, is San Diego State running back Juwan Washington. He made the Maxwell Award watch list earlier this week after leading the Aztecs with 999 rushing yards, averaging five yards per carry, and ran for ten touchdowns in 2018.
It is worth noting, however, that athletic departments are responsible for nominating their athletes for this particular honor, so while the Doak Walker Award committee will continue to accept names through October, Washington’s absence probably isn’t a snub.
Last year’s Doak Walker Award winner was Wisconsin’s Jonathan Taylor.
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