DALLAS, TX - The PwC SMU Athletic Forum released today the preseason candidates for the 2020 Doak Walker Award. The Forum annually presents the award to the nation’s top college running back. Representing the MAC are six student-athletes -- Bowling Green junior Andrew Clair, Ball State senior Caleb Huntley, Toledo junior Bryant Koback, Central Michigan junior Kobe Lewis and Buffalo juniors Kevin Marks & Jaret Patterson. 

Clair is a two-time third team All-MAC player and broke the school record with 6.8 yards per carry as a freshman in 2017. He has twice previously been named to the preseason Doak Walker Award Watch List. The St. Louis, Mo. native enters his redshirt junior season with 1,671 career rushing yards. Also a threat as a receiver, Clair has 42 career catches for another 302 yards. He has 17 career touchdowns (13 rushing and four receiving) and reeled off four consecutive 100-yard rushing games in 2017.

Huntley was an All-MAC Second Team selection last season. The Atlanta, Georgia, native ran for 1,275 yards and 12 touchdowns last season, surpassing 100 yards rushing in seven of the Cardinals' eight MAC games. He enters his senior season ninth on the program's all-time list with 2,465 career yards rushing.

Koback earned second-team All-MAC honors and ranked fourth in the MAC with 1,187 rushing yards. He became the 16th player in Toledo history to crack 1,000 rushing yards in a season and the 18th Rocket to crack 2,000 career rushing yards (2,104).

Lewis enjoyed a breakout season in 2019, rushing for 1,074 yards and scoring 12 touchdowns. He also caught 23 passes for 164 yards and returned 13 kicks for 308 yards, a 23.7-yard average as the Chippewas finished 8-6, won the MAC West title, and earned a berth in the league-championship game and an appearance in the New Mexico Bowl.

Marks rushed for over 100 yards five different times, including 118 yards on 16 carries against Toledo and 112 yards against Ohio. The Virginia native had a rushing touchdown in each of the last six games of the regular season. He rushed for a career-best 1,035 yards and eight touchdowns last year.

Patterson, who was named a preseason All-American by the Walter Camp Foundation, is coming off a record-breaking season for the Bulls. He rushed for a single-season school record 1,799 yards and scored 19 rushing touchdowns, also a school record in 2019. An All-MAC First Team selection, Patterson led the Mid-American and ranked fifth in the nation in rushing last season. He was named the Walter Camp National Player of the Week after rushing for a single-game school record 298 yards and a MAC-record six touchdowns against Bowling Green on November 29. He rushed for 490 yards and 10 touchdowns over the final two games of the regular season. In only two seasons, Patterson already ranks fifth in school history in career rushing yards with 2,812. His 33 career rushing touchdowns are only one shy of the school record.

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 2020 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.