Seth McGowan named to Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award Watch List

Could Kentucky have its next star running back? Step aside, Benny Snell, Chris Rodriguez and Ray Davis — it’s Seth McGowan‘s turn. The New Mexico State transfer has been named to the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award Watch List, it was announced Wednesday by SPORTyler.

Presented annually to the nation’s most outstanding DI offensive player out of Texas — honorees must have either graduated from a Texas high school or played at a four-year college in Texas — he joins the list of 102 players from nine conferences and one independent school. McGowan is a native of Mesquite, Texas, where he was a standout at Poteet High School.

Coming over from NMSU, the 6-1, 215-pound senior is in his first season as a Wildcat after also spending time at Butler (Kansas) Community College in 2023 and Oklahoma in 2020. The standout running back has played in 20 career games at the DI level (eight at Oklahoma and 12 at New Mexico State) with 11 starting assignments, all at New Mexico State. In that time, he has compiled 210 career rushes for 1,193 yards and six scores (58 rushes for 370 yards and three TDs at Oklahoma and 152 rushes for 823 yards and three scores at New Mexico State). He holds a career 5.68 yards per rush average.

He also has 36 career catches for 478 receiving yards with four touchdowns (13 catches for 201 yards and one TD at Oklahoma and 23 catches for 277 yards and three TDs at NMSU).

The Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award Selection Committee will be comprised of Texas-based journalists and college football dignitaries and, in subsequent years, each of the all-time winners.

Each week during the regular season, an Earl Campbell Tyler Rose National Player of the Week will be selected leading up to announcing the 16 semifinalists in November and up to five finalists in December. The recipient of the award will be announced in January.

The award is named in honor of Earl Campbell, who graduated from John Tyler High School in Tyler, Texas, before playing at Texas. In his senior season, Campbell led the nation with 1,744 rushing yards and 19 touchdowns, becoming Texas’ first Heisman Trophy winner. He was drafted by the Houston Oilers, where he earned Rookie of the Year honors in 1978 and went on to lead the NFL in rushing three times. Campbell earned NFL MVP in 1979 and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1991.

Each candidate must exhibit the enduring characteristics that defined Campbell, including integrity, performance, teamwork, sportsmanship, community, and tenacity – specifically tenacity to persist, drive, determination to overcome adversity and injury in pursuit of reaching goals.