DALLAS — The PwC SMU Athletic Forum released Wednesday the preseason candidates for the 2018 Doak Walker Award. The Forum annually presents the award to the nation’s top college running back.
Arkansas running backs Devwah Whaley and Chase Hayden Mizzou’s Damarea Crockett are among 62 running backs on this year’s preseason list, making the Razorbacks one of just three programs with a pair of players featured on the list.
Whaley, a junior, started 11 of 12 games played last season. He finished as the team’s second leading rusher with 559 yards and seven touchdowns on 127 carries and caught eight passes for 56 yards and a score. A native of Beaumont, Texas, Whaley scored a touchdown rushing or receiving in each of the last six regular season games.
Hayden will enter his sophomore season after rushing for 326 yards and four touchdowns on 61 attempts in seven games played in 2017. He became one of only three Arkansas true freshmen to rush for 100 yards or more in his Razorback debut when he tallied a game-high 120 yards and one touchdown on 14 carries in last year’s season opener.
Missouri’s Crockett set the Tigers Freshman record for rushing yards at 1062, rushing touchdowns in a season with 10 and tied the single game rushing touchdown record with 4.