Kansas State defensive end Ryan Mueller was named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week following a stellar outing in last week’s 41-7 win over Iowa State, the league office announced today.

The honor for Mueller was the first of his career, while it marked the Wildcats’ Big 12-leading 21st weekly conference accolade since 2011.

A former walk-on, Mueller led a K-State defense that came within an eyelash of the school’s first shutout in a Big 12 game in 10 seasons. The Leawood, Kan., product finished the afternoon with seven tackles, including two tackles for loss and one sack, from his defensive end position to take over the Big 12 lead in quarterback sacks. He now has at least a half TFL in all eight games and one or more sacks in six games, including the last four contests.

In the game, K-State held Iowa State to just 249 total yards and a Cyclone score following a turnover and a short field with 3:24 left prevented the shutout.

K-State (4-4, 2-3) hits the road this weekend for a Big 12 matchup with No. 23 Texas Tech (7-2, 4-2). Kickoff is slated for 11 a.m. with the game being televised by ABC.

— KSU Sports Information —