Utah State’s Jaylen Warren named to Doak Walker Award watch list

Utah State running back Jaylen Warren scores a touchdown against Wake Forest during the second half of an NCAA college football game in Winston-Salem, N.C., Friday, Aug. 30, 2019. Wake Forest won 38-35. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)

LOGAN, Utah – Utah State senior running back Jaylen Warren has been named to the Doak Walker Award Watch List, it was announced Wednesday by the National College Football Awards Association.

The award, named for SMU’s three-time All-America running back Doak Walker, is presented annually to the nation’s top college running back and 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.

Warren is one of 76 running backs named to this year’s preseason Watch List, including one of seven Mountain West players, joining Boise State sophomore George Holani, Hawai’i junior Miles Reed, Fresno State senior Ronnie Rivers, Nevada junior Toa Taua, Wyoming junior Xazavian Valladay and UNLV senior Charles Williams.

Warren, a 5-foot-8, 215-pound senior from Salt Lake City, Utah (East HS/Snow College), played in 12 games last season for the Aggies and finished second on the team in rushing as he carried the ball 112 times for 569 yards (5.1 ypc/47.4 ypg) and five touchdowns. He also had 15 receptions for 182 yards (12.1 ypr).

Warren began his Utah State career with a season-high 19 carries for a season-best 141 yards, including a 4-yard touchdown, in the season opener at Wake Forest, which included a season-long rush of 59 yards. Warren then carried the ball nine times for 105 yards and two touchdowns (28, 54), to go along with two receptions for 27 yards, in his next game against Stony Brook to become the first Aggie ever to rush for 100 yards in his USU debut and in back-to-back games to start a career.

Along with being named to the Doak Walker Award Watch List this summer, Warren was also named a fourth-team preseason all-Mountain West selection by Phil Steele’s Magazine.

The PwC SMU Athletic Forum Board of Directors will name 10 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.

Utah State went 7-6 overall in 2019, including a 6-2 mark in the MW to finish third in the Mountain Division. It was just the 26th time in school history that USU won at least seven games, while the six league wins tied for the sixth-most in school history. USU also played in its 14th bowl game in school history in 2019, including its eighth in the past nine seasons.

Fans can follow the Aggie football program at twitter.com/USUFootball or on Facebook at Utah State Football, as well as on Instagram at instagram.com/USUFootball. Aggie fans can also follow the Utah State athletic program at twitter.com/USUAthletics or on Facebook at Utah State University Athletics.

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