LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas running backs Dylan Edwards and Yasin Willis were named preseason candidates for the Doak Walker Award, the PwC SMU Athletic Forum announced on Tuesday. The Doak Walker Award is presented annually to the nation’s most outstanding running back.
Edwards and Willis are among 62 selections on the Doak Walker Award preseason list, while Kansas is one of six teams with multiple players selected, along with Texas, Penn State, Georgia Tech, Florida State and Indiana.
Edwards, a redshirt junior from Derby, Kansas, has played in 28 career games with 184 carries for 1,072 yards and eight touchdowns. Edwards played in four games in 2025 while at Kansas State, carrying 34 times for 205 yards and two touchdowns. Edwards was named to the Doak Walker Award Preseason Watch List in 2025, alongside the Maxwell Award Preseason Watch List and the Paul Hornung Award Preseason Watch List.
Willis, a junior from Newark, N.J., appeared in nine games while at Syracuse in 2025, carrying 129 times for 558 yards and four touchdowns. Willis has played in 20 career games with 688 career yards and five career touchdowns.
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 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 2026 Doak Walker Award will be announced live on The Home Depot College Football Awards on December 10, 2026. The award is named for SMU’s three-time All-America running back Doak Walker. Each Tuesday of this season, The PwC SMU Athletic Forum will once again announce a Doak Walker National Running Back of the week.
Ajay Allen (Sr.), Western Kentucky
Jabari Bates (Sr.), San Jose State
Jadan Baugh (Jr.), Florida
Braydon Bennett (Sr.), Eastern Michigan
Vaughn Blue (Jr.), Central Michigan
Mel Brown (Sr.), Colorado State
Raleek Brown (Sr.), Texas
Kenyon Clay (Sr.), Arkansas State
Cam Cook (Sr.), West Virginia
Manny Covey (Jr.), Memphis
Kam Davis (So.), Liberty
Jordon Davison (So.), Oregon
Evan Dickens (Jr.), Boston College
Cameron Dickey (Jr.), Texas Tech
Cam Edwards (Sr.), Michigan State
Dylan Edwards (Jr.), Kansas
Leonard Farrow (Sr.), Florida Atlantic
Mark Fletcher Jr. (Sr.), Miami
Matt Fuller (So.), South Carolina
Ashton Grey (Jr.), East Carolina
Carson Hansen (Sr.), Penn State
Ahmad Hardy (Jr.), Missouri
Samuel Harris (So.), Wyoming
Caleb Hawkins (So.), Oklahoma State
Marcellous Hawkins (Sr.), Virginia Tech
Justice Haynes (Sr.), Georgia Tech
Malachi Hosley (Sr.), Georgia Tech
Makhi Hughes (Sr.), Houston
Fame Ijeboi (So.), Purdue
Bo Jackson (So.), Ohio State
Telly Johnson Jr. (Jr.), NIU
Peyton Jones (Jr.), Liberty
Demon June (Fr.), North Carolina
Wayne Knight (Sr.), UCLA
Ousmane Kromah (So.), Florida State
Kewan Lacy (Jr.), Ole Miss
Peyton Lewis (Jr.), Virginia
Khobie Martin (So.), Indiana
CJ Miller (Jr.), Toledo
Adam Mohammed (Jr.), California
Kamari Moulton (Jr.), Iowa
AJ Newberry (Jr.), Oregon State
Godspower Nwawuihe (So.), Army
James Peoples (Jr.), Penn State
George Pettaway (Sr.), James Madison
Kendrick Raphael (Sr.), SMU
Kedrick Reescano (Sr.), Arizona
Turbo Richard (Jr.), Indiana
Devin Roche (Jr.), Old Dominion
Jayden Scott (So.), NC State
Sutton Smith (Sr.), Arkansas
Hollywood Smothers (Jr.), Texas
Lucky Sutton (Sr.), San Diego State
Herschel Turner (Jr.), Nevada
Kanye Udoh (Sr.), Liberty
Ca’Lil Valentine (Jr.), Illinois
Duke Watson (Jr.), UCF
Jahiem White (Sr.), North Texas
DeJuan Williams (So.), Maryland
Yasin Willis (Jr.), Kansas
Quintrevion Wisner (Sr.), Florida State