DALLAS – The PwC SMU Athletic Forum announced today the 10 semifinalists for the 2018 Doak Walker Award. The semifinalists are Eno Benjamin (Arizona State), AJ Dillon (Boston College), Travis Etienne (Clemson), Darrell Henderson (Memphis), Karan Higdon (Michigan), Benny Snell (Kentucky), Devin Singletary (Florida Atlantic), J.J. Taylor (Arizona), Jonathan Taylor (Wisconsin) and Trayveon Williams (Texas A&M).
 
To determine the 2018 finalists, members of the Doak Walker Award National Selection Committee will cast their votes after this week’s games. Three finalists for the award will be named Monday, November 19. The Doak Walker Award National Selection Committee will cast a second vote to select the 2018 award recipient. The 2018 Doak Walker Award recipient will be announced live on The Home Depot College Football Awards on Thursday, December 6 on ESPN.
 
Dillon is ninth nationally in rushing with 117.0 yards per game despite suffering a nagging high-ankle sprain that sidelined him for two games and has limited his explosiveness since his return to the starting lineup. Dillon is eighth nationally with three rushing plays of 50 yards or longer in 2018.
 
Since becoming the starting running back for Boston College on Oct. 14, 2017 at Louisville, Dillon leads all players nationally with 146.1 rushing yards per game over the stretch. BC is 12-5 since Dillon became the starter and has averaged 34.0 points per game. The 2018 ACC Preseason Player of the Year, Dillon earned ACC Rookie of the Year honors from the conference last season in addition to being named a Freshman All-American.

This season, Etienne has rushed 127 times for an ACC-best 1,076 yards with 15 rushing touchdowns and caught nine passes for 56 yards with a receiving touchdown. Entering this week’s contest against Duke, he holds Top 10 national rankings in rushing touchdowns (15, fourth), total touchdowns (16, tied for fourth), points per game (9.6, tied for seventh) and yards per carry among qualified backs (8.47, eighth), in addition to producing explosive runs of 20-plus yards (15, second) and 30-plus yards (eight, tied for third) at an elite rate.
 
The Award is named after three-time SMU All-America running back and 1948 Heisman Trophy winner Doak Walker. Walker, who also punted, returned kicks and kicked extra points, led the Mustangs to two Southwest Conference Championships. He was drafted by the Detroit Lions and led the league in scoring his rookie year. During his six years with the Lions, he led the team to two NFL championships and was chosen All-Pro four times. Walker is a member of both the College and Pro Football Halls of Fame.
 
The Doak Walker Award is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA), which includes college football's most prestigious awards. Founded in 1997, the NCFAA and its 24 awards boast 800 recipients, dating to 1935. Visit NCFAA.org to learn more about the NCFAA.