DALLAS, Texas - Fresno State senior running back Robbie Rouse was one of 52 running backs named a preseason candidate for the 2012 Doak Walker Award, the PwC SMU Athletic Forum announced Thursday.

The Doak Walker Award is presented annually to the nation's top college running back. Rouse was also previously named a preseason candidate for the CFPA All-Purpose Trophy and for the Maxwell Award.

At 5-7, 190-pounds, Rouse returns for his senior season as the nation's fourth-leading active rusher. His 3,157 career rushing yards trails only former Boston College and current Temple running back Montel Harris (3,735), Wisconsin's Montee Ball (3,310) and Michigan's Denard Robinson (3,229).

Rouse is 317 yards away from breaking the school's all-time rushing record of 3,473 yards that Ron Rivers set back in 1993.

Despite his size, Rouse has proven to be one of the toughest backs to play in the Valley. He set a program record last fall with 329 carries and ranks second in school history with 616 rushing attempts in hicareer. He has run for 12 100-yard rushing games, which ranks seventh nationally among returning running backs, and has 25 career rushing touchdowns.

He was a first-team All-WAC selection in 2011 when he ranked seventh nationally with 1,549 rushing yards. That was the third-highest single-season rushing total in school history and he has a chance this season to become the first Bulldog tailback to register three 1,000-yard rushing seasons.

The award, in its 23nd year, 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.