Nakia Watson named Doak Walker Award Candidate

DALLAS (August 9, 2023) – Washington State running back Nakia Watson was named a 2023 Doak Walker Award Candidate, the PwC SMU Athletic Forum announced Wednesday.

The Doak Walker Award is presented to the nation's top college running back.

Watson, a redshirt-senior from Austin, Texas, earned his first career All-Pac-12 Conference honor in 2022 after finishing the regular season ninth in the Pac-12 with 13 total touchdowns and seventh with 96.7 all-purpose yards-per-game, seventh with 69.9 rushing yards-per-game and tied for eighth with nine rushing touchdowns. Watson had three 100-yard rushing games, forced 36 missed tackles on runs and was third in the Pac-12 with ten runs of 20+yards.

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 2023 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.

Washington State University Athletics

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