Seven SEC players named to 2026 Doak Walker Award preseason watch list
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
The college football season is just weeks away, and that means watch list season is here. On Tuesday, the National College Football Awards Association unveiled the 60 players on the preseason watch list for the Doak Walker Award, given to the country’s top running back.
Seven SEC players made the list, including the top three running backs in the conference in 2025: Mizzou‘s Ahmad Hardy, Ole Miss‘s Kewan Lacy, and Florida‘s Jadan Baugh.
The offseason was a difficult one for Hardy as he recovered from a gunshot wound to his leg suffered in May. There’s currently no timetable for the return of the junior, whose 1,649 yards ranked second in FBS.
Lacy, who ran for 1,567 yards, the third-highest total in the country in 2025, helped pace the Rebels to a first-ever College Football Playoff berth. His 24 rushing touchdowns placed him behind only North Texas’s Caleb Hawkins nationally.
Baugh, who is coming off a 1,170-yard season, will be one of the focal points of Florida’s offense under first-year head coach Jon Sumrall. The Gators are hoping to bounce back from a dismal 4-8 campaign.
Joining those three on the list are a pair of SEC newcomers in Texas‘s Raleek Brown and Hollywood Smothers, who transferred from Arizona State and NC State, respectively.
Here’s the full list of SEC players named to the 2026 Doak Walker Award watch list:
- Ahmad Hardy, Missouri
- Jadan Baugh, Florida
- Raleek Brown, Texas
- Matt Fuller, South Carolina
- Sutton Smith, Arkansas
- Kewan Lacy, Ole Miss
- Hollywood Smothers, Texas
The last SEC running back to win the Doak Walker Award was Alabama‘s Najee Harris in 2020.
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
