MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State senior safety Dante Barnett was one of 80 players nationally to be named to the watch list for the 2015 Bednarik Award as the College Defensive Player of the Year, the Maxwell Football Club announced Tuesday.

Coming off a season in which he tallied 77 tackles, four tackles for loss, three interceptions and 11 total passes defended, Barnett earned Second Team All-Big 12 honors from the league’s coaches in addition to earning all-conference accolades from ESPN and Phil Steele.

A 2015 team captain and the top active Wildcat with 176 career tackles, Barnett earned Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week honors following last year’s Texas game when he totaled seven stops and four passes defended. He also had a season-high 12 tackles, including a career-best three tackles for loss against UTEP, while he had three interceptions in a four-game stretch against Oklahoma State, West Virginia and Kansas.

Barnett’s inclusion on the list marks the sixth time a Wildcat has been named a candidate for the Bednarik Award, including the fifth in the last four seasons. Cornerback Chris Canty was one of three finalists in 1996, while linebacker Arthur Brown was a semifinalist in 2012. Other previous Wildcat candidates include cornerback Nigel Malone (2012), defensive back Ty Zimmerman (2013) and defensive end Ryan Mueller (2014).

Semifinalists for the Bednarik Award will be announced on November 2, while the three finalists for the award will be unveiled November 23. The winner will be announced as part of The Home Depot College Football Awards Show held December 10, at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, Georgia.

— KSU Sports Information —