Auburn's Tank Bigsby, Doak Walker Award candidate

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AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn running back Tank Bigsby has been listed as a candidate for the 2022 Doak Walker Award, presented annually to the nation's top running back, the PwC SMU Athletic forum released Wednesday.
The SEC freshman of the year in 2020, Bigsby rushed for 1,099 yards and 10 touchdowns as a sophomore in 2021.

Bigsby began the 2021 season with three consecutive 100-yard games, adding two more with 140 rushing yards vs. Ole Miss and 164 vs. South Carolina.

In two seasons on the Plains, the 6-0, 213-pounder has rushed for 1,933 yards and 15 touchdowns to rank No. 20 in Auburn career rushing.

Bigsby will represent Auburn at SEC Media Days Thursday in Atlanta, along with teammates Derick Hall and John Samuel Shenker, and head coach Bryan Harsin.

The Doak Walker candidate list features Lew Nichols III from Central Michigan who led the nation in rushing last season.

Highlighting the list are 2021 Doak Walker Award semifinalists TreVeyon Henderson of Ohio State, Bijan Robinson of Texas, Sean Tucker of Syracuse and Deuce Vaughn of Kansas State. 2020 semifinalist Mohamed Ibrahim is also featured among the list of preseason candidates.

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

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.

 Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer