Kansas State senior quarterback Jake Waters garnered his fourth major college football award watch list honor Thursday as he was named a candidate for the Manning Award, the Allstate Sugar Bowl announced.

Waters, one of 32 quarterbacks nationally and one of four from the Big 12, is up for the award given to the nation’s best quarterback following postseason play as it is the only quarterback award that includes the candidates’ bowl performances in the balloting. The Council Bluffs, Iowa, native is the second K-State candidate for the award after Collin Klein was one of 10 finalists in 2012.

A community-college transfer prior to the 2013 season, Waters threw for 2,469 yards and 18 touchdowns on 159-of-260 (61.2 percent) aim in his initial season in Manhattan. His yardage total ranks 10th in school history for a single-season, while he ranks fifth in K-State history in yards per game (189.9). Waters’ accuracy throughout the season also ranked him fifth in school history in completion percentage and third in passing efficiency (156.8). He begins his senior campaign with the school’s top career passing efficiency rating.

K-State’s 6-1 record over the final seven games of the season had much to do with the production of Waters as he averaged 204.7 yards per game with 14 touchdowns and only four interceptions during that stretch after throwing for 172.7 yards per game with four scores and five picks during the first six games.

The Wildcats host Fan Appreciation Day presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors on Saturday beginning at 5 p.m. Fans can watch the final hour of practice prior to head coach Bill Snyder and the 2014 team captains addressing the crowd at 6 p.m., while a one-hour autograph session will be held on the field.

Kansas State opens the 2014 season against Stephen F. Austin on August 30, at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.

— KSU Sports Information —

Kansas State senior defensive end Ryan Mueller is one of 31 players nationally – including five from the Big 12 – to be named to the Ted Hendricks Award watch list, the award’s foundation announced Tuesday.

Mueller’s inclusion on the watch list is his fifth of the preseason as he was also named to the Bednarik Award, Bronko Nagurski Trophy, Lott IMPACT Trophy and Rotary Lombardi Award watch lists. It also gave K-State its 18th watch list designation of the preseason.

A product of Leawood, Kansas, Mueller is up for the Ted Hendricks Award for a second time as he was on the midseason watch list a year ago. Meshak Williams was a candidate in 2012, while Ian Campbell was a semifinalist for the award in 2006 followed by a pair of watch list designations in 2007 and 2008.

Mueller, a captain for the 2014 season, tied the school record for sacks with 11.5 in 2013 to go along with 18.5 tackles for loss and 62 total tackles. The former walk-on earned Second Team All-America honors a year ago while he was also named the Big 12 Defensive Lineman of the Year.

The Ted Hendricks Award watch list will be adjusted as the 2014 season progresses and the foundation will announce a midseason watch list in late November. The winner of the 2014 Ted Hendricks Award will be announced on December 10.

Kansas State opens the 2014 season against Stephen F. Austin on August 30, at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. The game, which kicks off at 6:10 p.m.

— KSU Sports Information —

Kansas State quarterback Jake Waters was one of 27 quarterbacks across the nation to be named to the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award watch list as the nation’s top senior quarterback, the organization has announced.

Waters is the fourth Wildcat to be in contention for the honor and the first since Collin Klein won the award in 2012, while Michael Bishop (1998) and Chad May (1994) were both finalists. Waters was one of three Big 12 quarterbacks named to the watch list, joining Baylor’s Bryce Petty and Oklahoma State’s J.W. Walsh.

The Unitas Award watch list designation was the third overall for Waters this preseason as he was also named to the Maxwell (college player of the year) and Davey O’Brien (nation’s best quarterback) watch lists.

A community-college transfer prior to the 2013 season, Waters started all 13 games last year as he threw for 2,469 yards with 18 touchdowns and nine interceptions on 159-of-260 aim. He ranked fourth nationally in yards per completions (15.53) and 14th in passing efficiency (156.8) while finishing third in the Big 12 in passing yards per game (189.9) and total offense per game (213.9). His career passing efficiency currently ranks first in school history and his passing yards per game ranks fifth.

Waters played especially well during the second half of the 2013 season as he led the Wildcats to a 6-1 record, including a Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl victory over Michigan. Over the final seven games, the Council Bluffs, Iowa, product averaged 204.7 yards per game and tossed 14 touchdowns with only four interceptions. That came on the heels of averaging 172.7 yards and recording four touchdowns and five interceptions in the first six contests.

K-State opens the 2014 campaign against Stephen F. Austin on August 30, at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. The game, which kicks off at 6:10 p.m.

— KSU Sports Information —

Wrapping up a two-week span of honors, Kansas State senior wide receiver Tyler Lockett was named to the watch list for the Walter Camp Award as the nation’s most outstanding player, the Walter Camp Foundation announced Friday.

A native of Tulsa, Oklahoma, Lockett is a candidate for a fourth national award as he is also on the watch lists for the Maxwell (college player of the year), Biletnikoff (outstanding college receiver) and Paul Hornung (most versatile player) awards. On Wednesday, Lockett was named to the Preseason All-Big 12 team as both a wide receiver and kick returner.

Lockett, who was also a 2011 Walter Camp All-American as a kick returner, is the fifth Wildcat in the last three years to be a candidate for the award. The 2012 season saw linebacker Arthur Brown and defensive back Nigel Malone be tabbed as candidates, while Collin Klein was a finalist for the award. Last year, running back John Hubert was a preseason candidate.

One of the nation’s top wide receivers and kick returners throughout his entire career, Lockett is coming off perhaps his best season in 2013 when he hauled in 81 receptions for 1,262 yards and 11 touchdowns, while he returned 22 kickoffs for a 26.5-yard average. With one season remaining, he already ranks as one of the top receivers in school history as he is fourth in career receptions (143) and touchdowns (18), and fifth in yards (2,195). He needs 75 receptions, 838 yards and nine touchdowns during his senior campaign to break all three school records.

Lockett, along with fellow co-captains Jake Waters, Ryan Mueller, B.J. Finney and Jonathan Truman, and head coach Bill Snyder, will take part in the 2014 Big 12 Football Media Days on Tuesday at the Omni Hotel in downtown Dallas, Texas.

— KSU Sports Information —

K-State baseball coach Brad Hill has turned to a familiar face and a proven winner as Andy Sawyers has been named Associate Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator.

Sawyers replaces Mike Clement, who after two seasons as the Wildcats’ hitting coach accepted an assistant coaching position last week with 2014 College World Series participant Ole Miss.

“We are extremely excited to bring Coach Sawyers and his wife, Dena, and their son, A.J., back to the Wildcat family,” said Hill. “When Mike Clement accepted the assistant coaching position at Ole Miss, there was one name that immediately came to mind to fill our position: Andy Sawyers. He was directly involved in our four NCAA postseason appearances, from his offensive leadership during his coaching tenure to the recruitment of key players who led us to a Big 12 Conference championship three years after his departure to Texas A&M. He is a great offensive coach, passionate teacher for student-athletes, and leader of young men. We look forward to the aggressive offensive philosophy that he will instill, an approach that led the Big 12 in numerous offensive categories during his previous time at K-State.”

Sawyers, who was an assistant on Hill’s staff in the 2009 and 2010 seasons and helped the Wildcats reach their first two NCAA Regionals in program history, returns to K-State after spending the last four seasons as associate head coach at Texas A&M. Since 2011, he coordinated the Aggies offense and worked with the catchers defensively, helping the team reach the NCAA postseason in each of the four seasons. In his first season at Texas A&M, Sawyers helped direct the Aggies to a Big 12 championship and an appearance in the College World Series.

“Kansas State is a place that has very special memories for me, including being a part of the school’s first ever trip to the NCAA postseason in 2009,” said Sawyers. “I’m very close to Coach Hill, and to get a chance to work with him once again is special. Manhattan is a place where my son was born, and although I am a California native, it is as close to home as I am ever going to have in the coaching profession. My wife and I are very excited to be coming home.”

Previously with the Wildcats, Sawyers oversaw an aggressive K-State offense that led the Big 12 in batting average and stolen bases in both seasons. In 2009, K-State hit .317 and stole a program-record 149 bases, and in 2010, the Wildcats batted .323 with 120 steals, the fourth-most stolen bases in a single season. Also in 2010, K-State led the conference in OBP and was second in runs.

Sawyers worked with five K-State hitters who received All-Big 12 honors, including 2010 Big 12 Player of the Year Nick Martini and future MLB Draft picks Carter Jurica, Adam Muenster, Jason King, and Jared King. Martini is one of six players Sawyers has worked with since the 2000 season that have combined to win seven of the conference’s player of the year awards.

In his coaching career, Sawyers has helped lead his teams to 12 NCAA Regional appearances, four Super Regional berths, and two trips to the College World Series. His teams have also won the Big 12 regular season or championship tournament titles in five seasons.

A veteran coach of 16 years at the collegiate level, Sawyers has coached within the Big 12 for 11 of those seasons. The former Nebraska catcher began his coaching career as a volunteer assistant coach at Northwestern State (La.) in 1999 before serving as an assistant coach with the Huskers (2000, 2003-07), head coach at Hutchinson Community College (2001-02), and assistant at Texas A&M (2008, 2011-14).

At Nebraska, Sawyers helped the Huskers reach the NCAA Tournament five times, including an appearance in the 2005 College World Series. He worked with the team’s hitters, helping 13 players get selected in the MLB Draft, as well as served as the program’s academic coordinator and assisted with recruiting.

As the head coach at Hutchinson Community College, Sawyers compiled an 87-30 record and made two trips to the postseason. In 2002, he led the Dragons to a school-record 47 wins and a national ranking as high as seventh.

— KSU Sports Information —

Kansas State senior quarterback Jake Waters was named to the watch list for the 2014 Davey O’Brien Award, which is presented annually to the nation’s best quarterback, the Davey O’Brien Foundation announced Wednesday.

Waters, who was one of 39 players nationally and five from the Big 12 to be named a candidate for the honor, joins a list of prominent K-State quarterbacks who have received consideration for the honor. Chad May and Matt Miller were each one of 10 finalists in 1994 and 1995, respectively, prior to Michael Bishop winning the award in 1998. Most recently, Collin Klein was one of three finalists in 2012.

The honor was the second for Waters this preseason as he was a member of the Maxwell Award watch list, while he picked up the Wildcats’ 15th major college football award candidacy.

A product of Council Bluffs, Iowa, Waters threw for 2,469 yards with 18 touchdowns and nine on 159-of-260 (61.2 percent) aim during his initial season in Manhattan last year. The former community-college transfer played his best during the Wildcats’ 6-1 record over the final seven contests when he threw for just over 200 yards per game with 14 touchdowns and only four interceptions.

Waters, who enters his senior campaign with the top career passing efficiency rating (156.8) in school history, ranked fourth nationally in yards per completion (15.53) and 14th in passing efficiency in 2013. He also finished third in the Big 12 in passing yards per game (189.9) and total offense per game (213.9).

The Davey O’Brien Foundation will announce semifinalists for the award on November 3, and three finalists on November 24. The winner of the award will be announced live on December 11 during The Home Depot College Football Awards Show on ESPN.

The Wildcats kick off the 2014 season on August 30, with a 6:10 p.m., contest against Stephen F. Austin at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.

— KSU Sports Information —