Tulsa’s Brooks and Taylor Named to Doak Walker Preseason Watch List
7/17/2019 12:02:00 PM | Football
DALLAS, Texas –– The University of Tulsa junior running back duo of Shamari Brooks and Corey Taylor II were named to the Doak Walker Award Preseason Watch List, it was announced today by the PwC SMU Athletic Forum.
The Doak Walker Award, named for SMUs three-time All-America running back Doak Walker, is annually presented to the nation's top college running back. The 2018 award recipient Jonathan Taylor of Wisconsin leads the list of 71 preseason candidates.
The Tulsa duo, both from local area high schools, combined for 1,813 yards and 18 touchdowns in 2018 and has totaled 2,683 rushing yards and 33 TDs in their careers.
Tulsa is joined by Arkansas, Duke, Georgia Tech, Louisiana -Lafayette, Minnesota, Notre Dame and Oregon as the eight teams with a tandem of running backs named to this year's Doak Walker preseason list. There is a total of six running backs from the American Athletic Conference on the list.
Brooks, who stands 5'9" from Tulsa Union High School, rushed for a team-high 967 yards and seven touchdowns last year in 11 games
A two-year letterwinner and returning starter, Brooks has played in 20 career games and has 1,654 total rushing yards and 17 TDs. He has eight career 100+ rushing games, including four in each of his first two seasons. Brooks rushed for a season-best 151 yards on 17 carries vs. UConn, averaging 8.9 yards per carry, a year ago.
The 5'10" Taylor, from Tulsa's Holland Hall High School, had 846 yards and 11 TDs on the ground in 11 contests last season.
A two-year letterwinner, Taylor has 1,029 career rushing yards and 16 touchdowns in 19 career games. He has five 100-yard rushing games and five multiple rushing TD games in his career. Last year, Taylor had career-highs of 152 yards and 33 carries in his lone career starting assignment at Houston.
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 December 2 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.
Players Mentioned
Running Back
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