The list includes Arkansas State senior Warren Wand, who has led the Red Wolves’ running game for two consecutive seasons, last season picking up 715 yards.

Two Razorbacks made the list as well. Arkansas junior Devwah Whaley and sophomore Chase Hayden rushed for 588 and 338 yards, respectively, in 2017.

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 on November 20. The committee will cast a second vote beginning November 26 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 award, which will name its 29th recipient in 2018, 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.

University athletic departments nominate candidates for the award and can continue to do so through October. The complete list of candidates is below.

Cam Akers (So.), Florida State
Darius Anderson (Jr.), TCU
Rodney Anderson (Jr.), Oklahoma
Ryquell Armstead (Sr.), Temple
Alex Barnes (Jr.), Kansas State
LeVante Bellamy (Jr.), Western Michigan
Eno Benjamin (So.), Arizona State
KirVonte Benson (Jr.), Georgia Tech
Jamauri Bogan (Sr.), Western Michigan
Tony Brooks-James (Sr.), Oregon
Brittain Brown (So.), Duke
Spencer Brown (So.), UAB
Squally Canada (Sr.), BYU
Stephen Carr (So.), USC
Michael Carter (So.), North Carolina
Andrew Clair (So.), Bowling Green
Matt Colburn, II (Sr.), Wake Forest
Jeremy Cox (Sr.), Old Dominion
Damarea Crockett (Jr.), Missouri
AJ Dillon (So.), Boston College
J.K. Dobbins (So.), Ohio State
Rico Dowdle (Jr.), South Carolina
Ian Eriksen (Sr.), Eastern Michigan
Travis Etienne (So.), Clemson
Wesley Fields (Sr.), Georgia Southern
Myles Gaskin (Sr.), Washington
Darrin Hall (Sr.), Pittsburgh
Damien Harris (Sr.), Alabama
Chase Hayden (So.), Arkansas
Darrell Henderson (Jr.), Memphis
Karan Higdon (Sr.), Michigan
Justice Hill (Jr.), Oklahoma State
Travis Homer (Jr.), Miami
Xavier Jones (Jr.), SMU
Patrick Laird (Sr.), Cal
Jeremy Larkin (Jr.), Northwestern
Bryce Love (Sr.), Stanford
Izzy Matthews (Sr.), Colorado State
Alexander Mattison (Jr.), Boise State
David Montgomery (Jr.), Iowa State
Jalin Moore (Sr.), Appalachian State
Kelton Moore (Jr), Nevada
Zack Moss (Jr.), Utah
Jacques Patrick (Sr.), Florida State
Emmanuel Reed (Jr.), Buffalo
Miles Sanders (Jr.), Penn State
LJ Scott (Sr.), Michigan State
Devin Singletary (Jr.), Florida Atlantic
Rodney Smith (Sr.), Minnesota
Benny Snell (Jr.), Kentucky
D’Andre Swift (So.), Georgia
J.J. Taylor (So.), Arizona
Jonathan Taylor (So.), Wisconsin
Lexington Thomas (Sr.), UNLV
Tavares Thomas (Sr.), Mid Tennessee
Warren Wand (Sr.), Arkansas State
Da’Leon Ward (So.), Texas Tech
Devwah Whaley (Jr.), Arkansas
Aeris Williams (Sr.), Mississippi State
Trayveon Williams (Jr.), Texas A&M
Kenny Young (Sr.), Miami (Ohio)
Marquis Young (Sr.), Massachusetts

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JONESBORO – Sophomore quarterback Justice Hansen passed for four touchdowns and ran for another while sophomore running back Warren Wand caught two touchdown passes and punched another one in on the ground as A-State cruised past ULM 51-10 Saturday night at Centennial Bank Stadium.

A-State (3-4, 3-0 SBC) held a 42-3 advantage at halftime and extended its conference win streak to 12 games. The Red Wolves, which went 7-for-7 in the red zone, finished with 434 yards of total offense, including 335 in the first half, behind 316 yards in the aerial attack.

Defensively, A-State allowed 336 total yards with 174 coming on the ground and 162 in the air. The defense held ULM to 10 points marking the first time since 2006 that A-State has held back-to-back opponents to 10 or fewer points since 2006 (at FIU: 31-6, vs ULM 10-6). The 41-point margin of victory ranks as the fourth-largest in a Sun Belt contest for A-State.

Hansen finished 21-for-36 passing for 303 yards and four touchdowns while rushing four times for 20 yards and a touchdown. Johnston White was the leading rusher with seven carries for 72 yards. Wand finished as the leading receiver with four catches for 65 yards and the two touchdowns.

“I thought it was our most complete game we have played this year,” said A-State head coach Blake Anderson. “We made plays in all three phases. Special teams wise, no big issue that we are concerned about. We actually got the return game going and flipped the field. Defensively, we created turnovers and were stubborn against the run.

“Really, until we started making substitutions and had some mechanical problems with guys that don’t play a lot of snaps and then offensively until we started making substitutions, we were really solid. We were able to move the chains on third down and were seven-of-seven on third down and really taking what they were giving us.

“I don’t think they ever got to Justice and we protected him well and he made good decisions. I thought we improved and took a step in the right direction, but I think we can be better.”

Hansen was 3-for-5 on the opening drive for 61 yards, hooking up with Wand for a 28-yard touchdown on 4th-and-5. The scoring drive marked the first time this season that the Red Wolves had scored a touchdown on their opening drive.

Hansen completed 3-of-4 passes on the ensuing drive and found Chris Murray on a 3-yard shovel pass for the score, his second touchdown pass on the night. White broke the drive open with a 50-yard run on 1st-and-15 to set up A-State with 1st-and-goal from the 7-yard line.

The combo of Hansen and Wand was seen again as Wand caught a 31-yard pass to end the first quarter and put the Red Wolves within one yard of another score. After a one yard loss on a rush, Chad Voytik hit Wand for a 2-yard touchdown pass and the Red Wolves grabbed the 21-0 advantage early in the second quarter.

The passing game continued to be a force for A-State as Hansen tossed his third touchdown pass of the night to make it 28-0 with 10:21 left in the first half. Hansen completed 3-of-4 attempts on the drive, finding Sterling Stowers for an eight-yard touchdown.

A pass interference call against A-State helped ULM advance inside Red Wolves territory for the first time. The Warhawks later got within four yards of a touchdown, but A-State held ULM to a 21-yard field goal to make it 28-3 with 4:55 left in half.

Daryl Rollins-Davis returned the ensuing kickoff 78 yards to make it 1st-and-goal at the 6-yard line. Wand was the focal point on all three plays, catching a pass for four yards before plunging into the end zone on a 2-yard touchdown plunge to make it 35-3 with 3:54 remaining.

The first turnover of the game was a Blaise Taylor interception and Taylor returned the pick 33 yards to set up A-State in scoring position once again. After an 11-yard pass on first down, the Red Wolves later faced 4th-and-1 from the ULM 6-yard line. Hansen rushed into the end zone on fourth down and made it 42-3 with 37 seconds left in the half.

A-State added a touchdown on their opening possession of the third quarter with Hansen hooking up with Blake Mack for an eight-yard touchdown. Hansen targeted Mack three times on the drive and Mack hauled in two receptions for 32 yards.

J.D. Houston added a 27-yard field goal later in the quarter to make the score 51-3, but ULM broke free for a 61-yard touchdown to make it 51-10 with 4:05 left on the third quarter clock.

A-State faces a quick turnaround and hits the road to face Georgia State on Thursday, Nov. 3 at 6:30 p.m. (CT) on ESPNU. The Red Wolves close out the home schedule with Senior Day on Saturday, Nov. 12 at 2 p.m. against New Mexico State.

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JONESBORO – Arkansas State sophomore running back Warren Wand has been named to the 2016 Doak Walker Award Watch List, presented annually to the nation’s top running back.

Wand was named to the All-Sun Belt Conference Newcomer team in 2015 after finishing second on the A-State roster with 709 yards. His total was the most by an A-State freshman since Lamont Zachary ran for 846 yards in 1996. He also finished the season by collecting 50 or more rushing yards in seven straight games and ran for a career-high 119 yards against Georgia State.

The Edmond, Okla., native was third on the team with five rushing touchdowns and was one of three Red Wolves’ running backs to average better than 6.0 yards per carry on the year. Wand also finished third on the team with 891 all-purpose yards, including 135 receiving yards. He recorded one of two A-State rushing touchdowns during the New Orleans Bowl and also led the team in rushing in the game.

Wand is the fifth Arkansas State player to be named to the Doak Walker Award Watch List. Jonathan Adams and Michael Gordon were each two-time nominees for the award, while Reggie Arnold was a three-time nominee. David Oku was also named the watch list in 2013.

The PwC SMU Athletic Forum Board of Directors will name ten semifinalists on November 16, and the Doak Walker Award National Selection Committee will cast votes to determine the three finalists, who will be announced on November 22. The committee will cast a second vote beginning November 28 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 2016 Doak Walker Award will be announced live on The Home Depot College Football Awards on Thursday, December 8, on ESPN. The Doak Walker Award Presentation Banquet will be held in Dallas in early 2017.

The award, which will name its 27th recipient in 2016, 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.

Arkansas State will kick off its season with a home game against Toledo on Friday, Sept. 2. Season tickets for the Red Wolves’ 2016 football campaign, which includes six home games, are available for purchase. Arkansas State has strung together 11 consecutive years with a winning home record dating back to 2005 and has won 26 of its last 30 games at Centennial Bank Stadium.

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