Oct. 9, 2006

Notre Dame junior running back Darius Walker has been selected by a panel of ESPN college football analysts as one four nominees for the Cingular All-America Player of the Week Award. Walker gained 153 yards on 25 carries and scored one rushing touchdown while adding 45 yards on six receptions in Notre Dame’s 31-10 win over Stanford. The 153 rushing yards represented Walker¹s second-most yards gained during his Notre Dame career and his 198 yards of offense against the Cardinal represented 45.4% of the Irish offense.

Tennessee quarterback Erik Ainge, Wisconsin running back P.J. Hill and California quarterback Nate Longshore are Walker¹s competition for the award.

Fans can determine the winner by text messaging ³VOTE² to ³87654² on their wireless phone and casting their votes for the nominees.

Fans have until 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday to submit their votes. The winner will be announced October 12 during ESPN¹s Thursday night college football game between Virginia Tech and Boston College. Fans can vote as many times as they like, with each vote counting as one entry into a sweepstakes to win a trip to the 2007 BCS National Championship game. The Cingular All-America Player of the Week program will continue throughout the season, with the nominees being revealed each Sunday on the 9 a.m. ESPN SportsCenter and on the Web at www.espnallamerica.com