The Doak Walker Award watch list will feature three candidates from East Carolina’s football team, the organization announced on Monday.
Joining the list will be Marlon Gunn Jr., Parker Jenkins and London Montgomery.
Below are more details from ECU Sports Information and the Doak Walker Foundation.
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DALLAS, Texas – A trio of East Carolina running backs are among 101 running backs nationally named to the 2024 Doak Walker Award Watch List the PwC SMU Athletic Forum announced Monday. The Forum, which annually presents the award to the nation’s top running back, will announce the 2025 winner live on The Home Depot College Football Awards on December 12, 2025.
Marlon Gunn Jr. (Career and 2024 Biographical Sketch)
Senior in the classroom with one year of athletic eligibility remaining … Appeared in 34 career games for the Pirates earning three letters … Rushed 152 times for 633 yards (4.2 ypr) … Scored three ground touchdowns – all in 2024 … Caught 21 passes for 145 yards (6.9 ypc) … In all, tallied 910 all-purpose yards (633/rush, 145/rcv, 132 kor) for an average of 26.8 yards per game … Member of two bowl championship teams (2022 TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl, 2024 Go Bowling Military Bowl).
2024 (East Carolina: Played in all 12 games earning third varsity letter … Logged 181 total snaps (143 offense, 38 special teams) … Ran for 224 yards on 61 carries (3.7 ypr) … Did not play against NC State in the Go Bowling Military Bowl … Scored three touchdowns on the ground with first career coming at Liberty on a 1-yard run in the first quarter … His run was the fastest TD drive in FBS during the season … Also had TD runs against Temple (7 yards in 3Q) and at Tulsa (1 yard in 2Q) … Ran for a season-best 52 yards at Tulsa on eight carries … Added 42 yards at North Texas, 37 against Temple, 31 at ODU and 28 versus FAU … Over final five games of the season, rushed for 164 yards on 38 carries (4.3 ypr) with two scores … Caught two passes on the season for 29 yards (17.0 ypc) … Hauled in career-long pass for 29 yards at Old Dominion … Other reception was a five-yard grab at North Texas … Twenty-nine of 34 receiving yards came after the catch … Had 28 runs that went for four or more yards (12 for 6-plus) … Longest rush of the season was 20 yards at Tulsa in the second quarter … Also had long runs at North Texas (11 yards in 2Q) and Temple (10 yards in 4Q) … Returned one kickoff for 16 yards against Navy … Tallied season-best 60 all-purpose yards at Old Dominion … Topped 30 or more all-purpose yards in a contest on four occasions … Credited with one tackle (solo) at Old Dominion.
Parker Jenkins (Career and 2024 Biographical Sketch)
Junior in the classroom with two years of eligibility remaining … Mid-year transfer from Houston who enrolled at East Carolina in January of 2025 … Earned two letters at Houston (2023-24) … Played in 18 career games making nine starts (8/2023, 1/2024) … Rushed for 498 yards on 116 carries (4.3 ypr) with three scores … Caught 18 passes out of the backfield for 88 yards (4.9 ypc) … Returned eight kickoffs for 140 yards (11.7 avg) – all during freshman campaign in 2023.
2024 (Houston): Played in six games making one start … Rushed 17 times for 34 yards (5.7 ypr) ranking seventh on the team … Longest rush (13) and reception (6) of the season was 13 against UNLV … Caught three passes for seven yards … Week one starter against UNLV … One of 17 players with a reception … 2024 UH Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) Representative.
London Montgomery (Career and 2024 Biographical Sketch)
Sophomore in the classroom with three years of eligibility remaining … Played in 11 career games (all at ECU) earning varsity letter in 2024 … Rushed for 359 yards on 71 carries (5.1 ypr) with two touchdowns … Caught five passes for 29 yards (5.8 ypc) … Transferred to East Carolina in the fall of 2024.
2024 (East Carolina): Played in 11 of ECU’s 13 games earning first varsity letter … Logged 215 total snaps (211 offense, 4 special teams) … Registered 71 carries for 359 yards (5.1 ypr) with a pair of touchdowns … Caught five passes out of the backfield for 29 yards (5.8 ypc) … Scored touchdowns against Charlotte (48 yards) and Tulsa (16 yards) … Established career-highs in carries (15/North Texas), rushing yards (67/Norfolk State) and receiving yards (10/Florida Atlantic) … Made collegiate debut against Norfolk State in the season opener with 14 carries for 67 yards … Recorded double-digit carries against Norfolk State (14), Temple (12) and North Texas (15) … Topped 50 yards on the ground four times (67/Norfolk State, 56/Charlotte, 55/Temple, 63/North Texas) … Caught at least one pass in five games … Had two rushes for 20 or more yards (48 vs. Charlotte, 21 vs. Norfolk State) … Targeted seven times making five catches … Credited with 19 yards after the catch.
The Pirates will open the 2025 season on Thursday, Aug. 28 when it travels to Raleigh, N.C. to take on NC State at Carter-Finely Stadium. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. (ET) and will be televised on the Atlantic Coast Conference Network (ACCN). New season ticket orders are on sale now with packages starting as low as $115 each. Purchases may be made via ECU’s Online Ticket Center or by calling the Athletics Ticket Office at (252) 737-4500.