TEMPE, Ariz. – Sun Devil Football senior running backs Demario Richard and Kalen Ballage have again been named preseason candidates for the Doak Walker Award, the PwC SMU Athletic Forum announced Thursday morning. The Forum annually presents the award to the nation's top college running back.
Richard has tallied over 100 all-purpose yards in 10 of his last 16 games, including a 109-yard performance against Texas Tech last season. Richard amassed 155 carries, coupled with 17 receptions in 2017 to end his junior campaign with 729 yards and three touchdowns.
Complementing Richard in the backfield, Ballage recorded a breakout season last year, ending his junior campaign with a career high 126 rush attempts that accumulated into 536 rushing yards. The Peyton, Colo., natives' season was highlighted by a 140-yard outing against Texas Tech that saw Ballage tally eight touchdowns, tying Howard Griffith (Illinois, 1990) for the NCAA single-game touchdown record. His record-setting night also included breaking the Pac-12 record for most touchdowns scored as well as most rushing touchdowns by a single player in conference history.
Richard and Ballage, who were both named to the 2016 watch list, are the seventh and eighth Sun Devils under Head Coach Todd Graham to earn preseason recognition for the Walker Award, joining current New England Patriots' running back D.J. Foster, who received the honor in 2013 and 2014, former running back Marion Grice, who made the list in 2013, and former Seattle Seahawks running back Cameron Marshall, a preseason candidate in 2011 and 2012.
The PwC SMU Athletic Forum Board of Directors will name ten semifinalists on November 15. Three finalists, as voted on by the Doak Walker Award National Selection Committee, will be announced 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 2017 Doak Walker Award will be announced live on The Home Depot College Football Awards on Thursday, December 7 on ESPN. The Doak Walker Award Presentation Banquet is scheduled for February 16, 2018 in Dallas.
The award, which will name its 28th recipient in 2017, 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.
Richard has tallied over 100 all-purpose yards in 10 of his last 16 games, including a 109-yard performance against Texas Tech last season. Richard amassed 155 carries, coupled with 17 receptions in 2017 to end his junior campaign with 729 yards and three touchdowns.
Complementing Richard in the backfield, Ballage recorded a breakout season last year, ending his junior campaign with a career high 126 rush attempts that accumulated into 536 rushing yards. The Peyton, Colo., natives' season was highlighted by a 140-yard outing against Texas Tech that saw Ballage tally eight touchdowns, tying Howard Griffith (Illinois, 1990) for the NCAA single-game touchdown record. His record-setting night also included breaking the Pac-12 record for most touchdowns scored as well as most rushing touchdowns by a single player in conference history.
Richard and Ballage, who were both named to the 2016 watch list, are the seventh and eighth Sun Devils under Head Coach Todd Graham to earn preseason recognition for the Walker Award, joining current New England Patriots' running back D.J. Foster, who received the honor in 2013 and 2014, former running back Marion Grice, who made the list in 2013, and former Seattle Seahawks running back Cameron Marshall, a preseason candidate in 2011 and 2012.
The PwC SMU Athletic Forum Board of Directors will name ten semifinalists on November 15. Three finalists, as voted on by the Doak Walker Award National Selection Committee, will be announced 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 2017 Doak Walker Award will be announced live on The Home Depot College Football Awards on Thursday, December 7 on ESPN. The Doak Walker Award Presentation Banquet is scheduled for February 16, 2018 in Dallas.
The award, which will name its 28th recipient in 2017, 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.