DALLAS - Four C-USA running backs were selected as Doak Walker Award preseason candidates - UTEP's Ronald Awatt and Deion Hankins and UAB's Jermaine Brown, Jr., and DeWayne McBride, the Pwc SMU Athletic Forum announced Wednesday. University athletic departments nominate candidates for the award and can continue to do so through October.

The Miners' 1-2 punch combined for over 1,300 yards on the ground and 12 rushing touchdowns. 
 
Awatt led the Miners with 844 yards on 158 carries (5.3 avg.) and tied for the team lead with six rushing scores. Awatt added 158 yards on 11 receptions (14.4 avg.), including a long catch of 65 yards. He rushed for a career-high 159 yards in the Miners' 26-13 victory at Southern Miss, while also finding the end zone on 17-yard sprint. Against Rice, Awatt rambled for 119 yards on nine attempts, while breaking away for a career-long 74-yard rush. He added a 65-yard reception against the Owls during UTEP's 38-28 victory. Awatt broke the century mark for the first time in his career against Bethune-Cookman, running for 126 yards and a score. Awatt capped his successful junior season with a score against Fresno State in the New Mexico Bowl.
 
Hankins tied for the team lead with six rushing touchdowns, while running for 458 yards (ranked second on the team). Hankins ran for a season-high 75 yards with a rushing TD during UTEP's 28-21 win against ODU. The El Paso product grinded out 55 yards and rushed for a pair of touchdowns in the Miners' 19-3 triumph over LA Tech. At Florida Atlantic, Hankins racked up 80 yards of all-purpose yards, while concluding the regular season with 68 yards rushing and a TD at UAB. Hankins opened the season with 50 yards and score at NM State, and followed with another TD against New Mexico. 

McBride and Brown Jr. make up one of the top running back tandems in the nation. They are the only returning duo in the country who combined to rush for over 2,000 yards and 20 touchdowns last season. Most impressively, both backs averaged over 5.0 yards per carry while doing so.
 
McBride led the way with 1,371 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns in 2021. He averaged 6.72 yards per carry and had six 100-yard games. McBride is currently the school record holder for career yards per carry average (7.2) and has 1,810 rushing yards entering his junior year.
 
Brown, Jr., compiled 631 rushing yards and seven touchdowns last season while averaging 5.1 yards per carry. He had over 1,000 all-purpose yards in 2021 as he added 200 receiving yards and 184 kick return yards. Brown Jr. enters his fourth season ranking 11th in school history with 1,327 career rushing yards.