Hobbs On Doak Walker Watch List
8/27/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 27, 2003
Four Conference USA players have been named as preseason candidates for the 2003 Doak Walker Award, awarded annually to the nation's top college running back. Tulane's Mewelde Moore, TCU's Lonta Hobbs, DeAngelo Williams of Memphis and Art Brown of East Carolina are among the 39 candidates on the preseason list announced by the SMU Athletic Forum.
Moore is one of the top returning all-purpose backs in the nation with more all-purpose yards (5,182) than any other returning player in the country. A candidate for All-America honors, as well as the Doak Walker Award, he is Tulane's all-time leading rusher with 3,449 yards and tops the career charts in all-purpose yards as well. Overall, the Baton Rouge native owns 23 school records. As a sophomore, he became the first player in NCAA Division I-A history to rush for over 1,250 yards and catch more than 60 passes in the same season.
No one in TCU history had a better freshman year carrying the pigskin than Lonta Hobbs. Relatively unheralded from tiny Clarksville, Texas, Hobbs made a big splash when his redshirt came off for game five of the 2002 season. The Conference USA Freshman of the Year strung together seven consecutive games in which his rushing total increased, including five games of more than 100 yards, culminating with a 287-yard outburst in the regular season finale against Memphis. He finished the year with 1,029 yards and 12 touchdowns in just eight games.
In 10 games as a true freshman in 2002, DeAngelo Williams finished with a team-high 684 yards on 103 attempts (6.6 yards per carry), scoring five touchdowns. He had long runs of 86, 55 and 46 yards. Williams opened his collegiate career by carrying 12 times for 129 yards in a season-opening win over Murray State. He went on to post three other 100-yard games. Williams also ranked 35th in the nation in kickoff return average at 23.3 yards per return. He was named to Conference USA's All-Freshman team.
Brown was a second team All C-USA pick in 2002 when he rushed for 1,029 yards on 214 carries. He ranked sixth in the nation in scoring as he reached the end zone 17 times (14 rushing, three receiving) and came within one touchdown of breaking the ECU season scoring record. He was 29th nationally in rushing and recorded four 100-plus yard rushing games, including a career high 188 against South Florida. He also had 102 receiving yards in that game to become the first Pirate ever to have 100 yards rushing and receiving in a single game. Those numbers came despite his missing the last two games of the season with a groin injury. Unfortunately for Brown, a knee injury suffered on August 15 will keep him sidelined for the entire 2003 season. He is eligible for a medical redshirt and expected to play in 2004.
The SMU Athletic Forum Board of Directors will select eight semifinalists on November 19, and the Doak Walker Award National Selection Committee will vote on the winner in late November. The National Selection Committee consists of former NFL All-Pro and college All-America running backs, print and electronic media members and selected special representatives.
The recipient of the 2003 Doak Walker Award will be announced live on ESPN along with other NCFAA member awards on The Home Depot College Football Awards on Thursday, December 11, 2003. The Doak Walker Award Presentation Banquet will be held at The Fairmont Hotel in Dallas, Texas, on Thursday, February 12, 2004.
Former Penn State running back Larry Johnson, currently with the Kansas City Chiefs, won the 2002 Doak Walker Award.
2003 Doak Walker Award Watch List
Zack Abron (Sr.), Missouri
Tatum Bell (Sr.),Oklahoma State
Cedric Benson (Jr.), Texas
Art Brown (Sr.), East Carolina
Ronnie Brown (Jr.), Auburn
Terry Caulley (So.), Connecticut
Anthony Davis (Sr.), Wisconsin
Tyler Ebell (So.), UCLA
Adimchinobe Echemandu (Sr.), California
Jermaine Green, (Sr.), Washington State
Alex Haynes (Jr.), UCF
Taurean Henderson (So.), Texas Tech
Bobby Hendry (Sr.), Akron
Lonta Hobbs (So.), TCU
De'Arrius Howard (Jr.), Arkansas
Steven Jackson (Jr.),Oregon State
Terrence Jackson (Sr.), Central Michigan
Greg Jones (Sr.), Florida State
Kevin Jones (Jr.), Virginia Tech
Keylon Kincade (Sr.), SMU
Derrick Knight (Sr.), Boston College
Chance Kretschmer (Jr.), Nevada
Wali Lundy (So.), Virginia
T.A. McLendon (So.), NC State
Tony Milton (Jr.), Georgia
Brandon Miree (Sr.), Pittsburgh
DonTrell Moore (So.), New Mexico
Mewelde Moore (Sr.), Tulane
Bruce Perry (Sr.), Maryland
Chris Perry (Sr.), Michigan
Bobby Purify (Sr.), Colorado
Phil Reed (Sr.), Western Michigan
Fred Russell (Sr.), Iowa
Michael Turner (Sr.), Northern Illinois
Carnell Williams (Jr.), Auburn
DeAngelo Williams (So.), Memphis
Shaud Williams (Sr.), Alabama
Quincy Wilson (Sr.), West Virginia
Jason Wright (Sr.), Northwestern
