TYLER, Texas — UTSA sophomore Sincere McCormick has been named a semifinalist for the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award, the Tyler Chamber and SPORTyler announced Thursday.
McCormick is one of 13 semifinalists for the award, which recognizes the top offensive player in college football with ties to the state of Texas. Finalists will be selected from this group and announced on Dec. 23. The winner will be announced at a virtual award banquet in Tyler in late January 2021.
Fan voting for the semifinalists round begins at noon Thursday, Dec. 17, and runs through 5 p.m. Monday, Dec. 21. Visit www.earlcampbellaward.com and vote once daily.
A product of Converse Judson High School, McCormick leads Conference USA and stands second in the nation with a UTSA-record 1,345 rushing yards through 10 games. A 2019 Freshman All-American, he has scored a school-record 11 rushing touchdowns, which puts him second in C-USA and 13th in the FBS, on 22 carries — also a UTSA record — and he is averaging 6.0 yards per carry and 134.5 yards per contest in 2020. He has 31 runs of 10-or-more yards, including 16 of 20-plus yards and four that have gone for 50-plus yards, and he has gained 748 yards after contact.
McCormick, who also is a Doak Walker Award semifinalist, opened the season by breaking his own school record for with 197 rushing yards and a TD on 29 attempts in the 51-48 double-overtime win over Texas State. He gashed the UAB defense for 150 yards and a score on 22 totes on Oct. 3 and also topped 100 yards with 133 on 18 rushes versus Army two weeks later. McCormick bettered his own program standard for rushing attempts in a game with 37 for 165 yards and a school-record-tying three touchdowns in the 27-26 victory over Louisiana Tech, a performance that earned him Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award National Player of the Week accolades.
McCormick reached several milestones in the 23-20 road triumph over Southern Miss on Nov. 21. McCormick became the second Roadrunner to reach 1,000 rushing yards in a season and also raced the 2,000-yard plateau for his career after tallying 173 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 32 carries. He closed out the regular season in style by shattering his own school record with 251 rushing yards and two scores on 23 rushes in the 49-17 win over North Texas.
A four-time C-USA Offensive Player of the Week, McCormick has topped 100 yards on the ground six times this fall and a program-best nine times for his career. He has rushed for 150-plus yards in five games and he owns the top two and five of the top 10 rushing performances in the conference this season. The 2019 C-USA Freshman of the Year has racked up 643 rushing yards and seven TDs in his last four contests and has surpassed the century mark in four of his last five outings.
McCormick also has eclipsed his own school record for all-purpose yards in a season with 1,467 and he currently is the program's all-time leader in average yards per rush (5.8) and rushing yards per game (105.8).
Announced in 2012 by the Tyler Chamber and SPORTyler, the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award recognizes the top offensive player in Division I football who also exhibits the enduring characteristics that define Earl Campbell: integrity, performance, teamwork, sportsmanship, drive, community and tenacity; specifically, tenacity to persist and determination to overcome adversity and injury in pursuit of reaching goals.
In addition, the nominee must meet one or more of the following criteria: born in Texas and/or graduated from a Texas High School and/or played at a Texas-based junior college or four-year NCAA Division I Texas college. For more information about The Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award go to www.earlcampbellaward.com
McCormick and the Roadrunners will make the program's second bowl appearance next Saturday, Dec. 26, when they play in the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl against an opponent to be named in the coming days. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. at Gerald J. Ford Stadium in Dallas and the game will be televised nationally on ABC.
2020 Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award Semifinalists
Shane Buechele, SMU
Jaelon Darden, North Texas
Sam Ehlinger, Texas
D'Eriq King, Miami (Fla.)
Sincere McCormick, UTSA
Kellen Mond, Texas A&M
Zach Smith, Tulsa
Isaiah Spiller, Texas A&M
Nick Starkel, San Jose State
Kyle Trask, Florida
Deuce Vaughn, Kansas State
Tylan Wallace, Oklahoma State
Garrett Wilson, Ohio State
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