DALLAS – Arizona rising senior running back Gary Brightwell was named to the Doak Walker Award Watch List, the PwC SMU Athletic Forum announced Wednesday morning.
 
The Doak Walker Award recognizes the top running back in the nation. As a junior last year, Brightwell played in 11 of 12 games, teaming up with fellow running back J.J. Taylor to form a dangerous one-two punch in the backfield.
 
Brightwell finished his junior campaign with 66 carries for 390 yards and five touchdowns. He averaged 5.9 yards per carry and had a 94-yard touchdown run against Northern Arizona, which tied for the second-longest run in school history.
 
For his career, Brightwell has 915 rushing yards and eight touchdowns on 157 carries, averaging nearly six yards per carry in his three years with the Wildcats.
 
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 also 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.