MANHATTAN, Kan. – Boasting 13.5 tackles for loss and nine sacks during his senior campaign, Kansas State defensive end Jordan Willis is one of 24 players nationally to be named to the midseason watch list for the 2016 Hendricks Award, the Ted Hendricks Foundation has announced.

Willis is the third player in school history to be named to the midseason watch list for the award that is given annually to the nation’s most outstanding defensive end. He joins Ian Campbell, who was a semifinalist in 2006 and a midseason candidate in 2008, as well as Ryan Mueller in 2013.

A product of Kansas City, Missouri, Willis ranks third nationally and tops in the Big 12 in sacks, while he is ninth in the country in TFLs and second in the conference. He is one sack shy of tying for 10th in school history for a single season, while he has 23.5 career sacks to rank fourth in K-State history, the most career sacks by a Wildcat since Darren Howard set the school record with 29.5 from 1996-99.

Willis, who has sacks in six of K-State’s nine games this season and TFLs in eight contests, also has 36.5 career tackles for loss as he is 3.5 TFLs away from a tie for ninth in school history, a list that has not been touched by any Wildcat in the last 15 seasons.

The Ted Hendricks Foundation will trim the midseason list to a final watch list in two weeks. The process to select finalists and the 2016 recipient will take place in late November, and the organization will reveal its winner on Wednesday, December 7.

Kansas State travels to No. 25 Baylor next Saturday, November 19. The game time and television designation will be announced this Saturday night or Sunday morning. The Wildcats’ next home game is the Dillons Sunflower Showdown against Kansas on Saturday, November 26, a game that will kick off at either 11 a.m., or 2:30 p.m., on FS1. Kick time will be announced on Monday, November 14.

— K-State Athletics —