LARAMIE – The PwC SMU Athletic Forum released Tuesday the preseason candidates for the 2024 Doak Walker Award. The forum annually presents the award to the nation’s most outstanding college running back, and Cowboy running back Harrison Waylee was named to the list.

Waylee had an outstanding season for the Cowboys in 2023, one where he could have been an NFL draft pick if he entered the draft. He was named Honorable Mention All-Mountain West by the coaches and media and was named to the Second Team All-MW by Phil Steele. He appeared in 10 games for the Pokes with nine starts at running back. He rushed for 947 yards in those contests, ranking sixth in the MW and No. 50 in the nation. He averaged 94.7 yards per game, a number that ranked fourth in the conference and No. 24 in the nation. He ended the season with 5.8 yards per carry, ranking sixth in the MW and No. 34 in the nation.

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He also added 12 receptions for 66 yards. He finished the season with five touchdowns, including a 75-yard touchdown run against Texas. He rushed for over 100 yards against Texas (110), App State (156), Colorado State (128), and a season high of 191 against New Mexico. He has rushed for 2,876 yards in his career and has recorded 15 rushing touchdowns.

Outside of the standard sports media, Waylee has received noticeable attention from the gaming community with the recent College Football 25 video game developed by Electronic Arts. They rated him as an 89 overall (with the highest possible rating being a 99), which ranked him as the 3rd best player overall in the Mountain West. He is only listed behind Bosie State’s halfback Ashton Jeanty and Colorado State’s wideout Tory Horton, who are listed as 91 overalls and are ranked the 44th and 45th best players in the nation respectively.