University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
McGuire Named Candidate For Doak Walker Award
7/14/2016 9:42:00 AM | Football
Award goes to nation's top running back
DALLAS – Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns running back Elijah McGuire earned his third preseason honor heading into the 2016 season as the PwC SMU Athletic Forum announced on Thursday the preseason candidates for the 2016 Doak Walker Award. The award is presented annually to the nation's top college running back.
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McGuire, who was named to both the Maxwell Award Watch List and the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team, rushed for a team-high 1,058 yards and 13 touchdowns last season for the Ragin' Cajuns while hauling in 34 passes and three TDs.
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He joined former Ragin' Cajuns great Tyrell Fenroy (2005-08) as the second running back in school to rush for over 1,000 yards in back-to-back seasons and finished sixth in the SBC in rushing (87.2) and was seventh in the league in all-purpose yards (119.2).
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McGuire recorded three 100-yard rushing games on the season, including 162 yards with a school-record tying five TDs in the Ragin' Cajuns home opener against Northwestern State. He added a season-high 170 yards on a career-high 28 carries in a Sun Belt Conference-opening victory against Texas State and gained 159 yards against New Mexico State.
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The Houma, La., native, who is third on the school's all-time rushing list with 3,185 yards, became the first running back in Ragin' Cajuns history to record 100 receptions in a career and finished the season as one of two active NCAA players with 3,000 yards rushing and 1,000 yards receiving.
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Juniors Leonard Fournette of LSU and Christian McCaffrey of Stanford headline the 2016 candidate list after both were Doak Walker Award finalists a year ago. Fournette led the NCAA at 162.8 yards per game last year, while McCaffrey was the nation's leader in all-purpose yardage (276.0 YPG). Six of the 11 semifinalists for the 2015 Doak Walker Award appear on the 2016 watch list.
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Nominations for the award will be accepted through October.
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McGuire, who was named to both the Maxwell Award Watch List and the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team, rushed for a team-high 1,058 yards and 13 touchdowns last season for the Ragin' Cajuns while hauling in 34 passes and three TDs.
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He joined former Ragin' Cajuns great Tyrell Fenroy (2005-08) as the second running back in school to rush for over 1,000 yards in back-to-back seasons and finished sixth in the SBC in rushing (87.2) and was seventh in the league in all-purpose yards (119.2).
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McGuire recorded three 100-yard rushing games on the season, including 162 yards with a school-record tying five TDs in the Ragin' Cajuns home opener against Northwestern State. He added a season-high 170 yards on a career-high 28 carries in a Sun Belt Conference-opening victory against Texas State and gained 159 yards against New Mexico State.
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The Houma, La., native, who is third on the school's all-time rushing list with 3,185 yards, became the first running back in Ragin' Cajuns history to record 100 receptions in a career and finished the season as one of two active NCAA players with 3,000 yards rushing and 1,000 yards receiving.
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Juniors Leonard Fournette of LSU and Christian McCaffrey of Stanford headline the 2016 candidate list after both were Doak Walker Award finalists a year ago. Fournette led the NCAA at 162.8 yards per game last year, while McCaffrey was the nation's leader in all-purpose yardage (276.0 YPG). Six of the 11 semifinalists for the 2015 Doak Walker Award appear on the 2016 watch list.
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Nominations for the award will be accepted through October.
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Players Mentioned
RB
/ FootballMichael Desormeaux Media Availability (Sep 8, 2025)
Monday, September 08
Bill Davis Media Availability (Sept 6, 2025)
Sunday, September 07
Jalen Clark Media Availability (Sept 6, 2025)
Sunday, September 07
Daniel Beale Media Availability (Sept 6, 2025)
Sunday, September 07
