MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State running backs Justin Silmon and Alex Barnes were two of 61 running backs in the nation to earn a spot on the watch list for the 2017 Doak Walker Award, the PwC SMU Athletic Forum announced Thursday.

It marks the first time in school history that two K-State players are up for the award in the same season, while it is the 15th and 16th times a Wildcat is a candidate for the award that is presented to the nation’s premier running back.

Silmon, a junior, saw action in 12 games in 2016, including his first-career start at West Virginia as he rushed 86 times for 485 yards (5.4-yard average) with three touchdowns. He ended the regular season on a high note with 133 yards and two touchdowns at TCU, both career highs. The Tulsa, Oklahoma, product teamed with Jesse Ertz (170 yards) to produce the Wildcats’ first double 100-yard game since 2012, while it was tied for the third-most combined yards in a double 100-yard game in school history.

A sophomore, Barnes totaled 442 rushing yards and six touchdowns on 56 carries in 2016, ranking second in school history in rushing yards and touchdowns by a freshman, while he tied for 10th nationally in rushing touchdowns among freshmen. The Pittsburg, Kansas, product averaged 7.89 yards per carry, which led the Big 12 and ranked first in school history among players with 50 or more attempts, and he was the only player in the Big 12 with at least 50 attempts to not have a negative rush.

Barnes carded career highs in yards (129), carries (19) and rushing touchdowns (4) at Baylor, setting the K-State freshman single-game rushing touchdown record and ranking third in rushing yards. He came back with 103 yards the next game against Kansas, the first freshman in school history with consecutive 100-yard games.

The Wildcats open the 2017 campaign and a seven-game home schedule on Saturday, September 2, with the ninth-annual K-State Family Reunion against Central Arkansas.

— K-State Athletics —