The onslaught of preseason watch lists continued Thursday with the Doak Walker Award’s 53-player announcement. Presented annually to the nation’s top running back, the Doak Walker watch list features several returning 1,000-yard rushers in the SEC including South Carolina’s Mike Davis and Alabama’s T.J. Yeldon.

Defending SEC champs Auburn, the nation’s leader in rushing yards per game last season at 328.3, does not have a representative despite returning ballcarriers Corey Grant and Cameron Artis-Payne who combined for over 1,200 yards on the ground.

SEC players on the 2014 Doak Walker watch list

  • Alabama: Derrick Henry; T.J. Yeldon
  • Arkansas: Alex Collins, Jonathan Williams
  • Kelvin Taylor, Florida
  • Todd Gurley, Georgia
  • Terrence Magee, LSU
  • Josh Robinson, Mississippi State
  • Mike Davis, South Carolina
  • Trey Williams, Texas A&M

Four Doak Walker winners have come out of the SEC since the award was first presented in 1990. Darren McFadden, a dynamic threat in the Wild Hog at Arkansas, achieved the honor consecutive years in 2006 and 2007.  Georgia’s Garrison Hearst won the award in 1992.

The SEC’s most recent winner was Alabama’s Trent Richardson in 2011 after he replaced Heisman tailback Mark Ingram with a 1,679-yard season.