LAS VEGAS, Nev., -- Titus Swen is starting to gain national attention.

Wyoming's junior running back Wednesday was named to the Doak Walker Award Preseason Watch List by the PwC SMU Athletic Forum. This honor is awarded to the top running back in the nation.

The 5-foot-11, 202-pound Fort Worth, Texas native, rushed for a career-best 785 yards and seven touchdowns last fall. Most impressive, Swen averaged nearly six yards per carry in a reserve role out of the Cowboys' backfield. That number is good enough to rank him 26th in the country and No. 2 in the Mountain West Conference.

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His biggest outing came against the eventual conference champions in late November.

Swen rushed for a career-high 169 yards on just 15 carries, and busted a 98-yard touchdown run in a 44-17 rout of Utah State. The former three-star recruit out of Eaton High School also gashed Wyoming's Border War rival, Colorado State, for 166 yards.

Swen was named a Second Team All-Mountain West selection by Pro Football Focus.

As a true freshman in 2019, Swen burst on the scene with 337 yards on the ground while playing in parts of six games. He opted out the following season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

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University athletic departments nominate candidates for the award and can continue to do so through October.

The PwC SMU Athletic Forum Board of Directors will name ten semifinalists in November. Three finalists, as voted on by the Doak Walker Award National Selection Committee, will be announced later 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 2022 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.

Honoring the legends of sports for 33 years, the PwC SMU Athletic Forum celebrates outstanding success in athletics. Based in Dallas, the series features major figures from a variety of sports. The PwC SMU Athletic Forum includes four luncheons and the prestigious Doak Walker Award Presentation Banquet.

The Doak Walker Award is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA), which encompasses the most prestigious awards in college football. Founded in 1997, the NCFAA and its 25 awards now boast over 800 recipients, dating to 1935.

Past Doak Walker Award winners:

2021 - Kenneth Walker - Michigan State

2020 -Najee Harris - Alabama

2018-19 - Jonathan Taylor - Wisconsin

2017 - Bryce Love - Sanford

2016 - D'Onta Foreman - Texas

2015 - Derrick Henry - Alabama

2014 - Melvin Gordon - Wisconsin

2013 - Andre Williams - Boston College

2012 - Montee Ball - Wisconsin

2011 - Trent Richardson - Alabama

2010 - LaMichael James - Oregon

2009 - Toby Gerhart - Stanford

2008 - Shonn Greene - Iowa

2006-07 - Darren McFadden - Arkansas

2005 - Reggie Bush - USC

2004 - Cedric Benson - Texas

2003 - Chris Perry - Michigan

2002 - Larry Johnson - Penn State

2001 - Luke Staley - BYU

2000 - LaDainian Tomlinson - TCU

1999 - Ron Dayne - Wisconsin

1997-98 - Ricky Williams - Texas

1996 - Byron Hanspard - Texas Tech

1995 - Eddie George - Ohio State

1994 - Rashaan Salaam - Colorado

1993 - Byron "Bam" Morris - Texas Tech

1992 - Garrison Hearst - Georgia

1991 - Trevor Cobb - Rice

1990 - Greg Lewis - Washington

* A University of Wyoming press release contributed to this report

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