Kansas State – Page 43 – St. Joseph Post Archive

Lombardi Award places three Wildcats on watch list

Posted on July 14, 2014

Kansas State offensive linemen B.J. Finney and Cody Whitehair along with defensive end Ryan Mueller were named to the Rotary Lombardi Award watch list, the Rotary Club of Houston announced Monday.

The award, which is presented to the college lineman of the year, includes 123 players from 76 different institutions, including 12 from the Big 12 schools. Finney is a candidate for the award for the second-straight season while the other two are first-time members of the watch list.

A native of Andale, Kansas, Finney is K-State’s third two-time candidate for the award, joining Nick Leckey (2002-03) and Ian Campbell (2007-08), while he is now a candidate for a third award (Outland, Rimington). He earned All-Big 12 First Team honors each of the last two years and has started all 39 career games, including the last 38 at center.

Whitehair, who is also a candidate for this year’s Outland Trophy, was an All-Big 12 Second Team performer in 2013 after starting all 13 games at left guard. The Abilene, Kansas, native has started 25 of his 26 career games.

A former walk-on who turned into the Big 12 Defensive Lineman of the Year in 2013, Mueller picked up his fourth award candidacy as he was also named to the watch lists for the Bednarik Award and the Bronko Nagurski and Lott IMPACT trophies. The Leawood, Kansas, native recorded a school-record tying 11.5 sacks in last season to go along with 18.5 tackles for loss. He earned Second Team All-America honors as a junior as well as All-Big 12 First Team accolades.

The 2014 Rotary Lombardi Award will announce its semifinalists on November 6 and a list of finalists on November 20. Those finalists will travel to Houston, Texas, where the winner will be announced at the Wortham Center on December 10.

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

— KSU Sports Information —

Three Wildcats named to FWAA watch lists

Posted on July 10, 2014July 10, 2014

Three Kansas State players – offensive linemen B.J. Finney and Cody Whitehair, and defensive end Ryan Mueller – were named to watch lists for awards announced by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) on Thursday.

Finney and Whitehair were named to the watch list for the Outland Trophy, presented to the nation’s most outstanding interior lineman, while Mueller is a candidate for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, presented to the nation’s most outstanding defensive player.

This marks the second-straight season that Finney is a candidate for the Outland Trophy, while he was also named to the watch list for the 2014 Rimington Award on Tuesday. K-State is one of four teams to place multiple players on the Outland Trophy watch list. Mueller is a first-time candidate for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy and picked up his third preseason honor as he is also a candidate for the Bednarik Award and the Lott IMPACT Trophy. The Leawood, Kansas, also registered K-State’s sixth candidacy for the Nagurski Trophy in the last four years.

The watch list for the 2014 Outland Trophy includes 64 players across the country, including nine from the Big 12, while the 2014 Bronko Nagurski Trophy watch list is comprised of 81 total players and 13 from the Big 12.

Finney and Whitehair started all 13 games in 2013 at center and left guard, respectively. They helped the Wildcats average 35.9 points per game and 404.7 yards per game during the final seven contests of the year in which K-State tallied a 6-1 record. Both Kansas natives, Finney and Whitehair earned All-Big 12 status a year ago as Finney, a product of Andale, was a first-team honoree, and Whitehair, from Abilene, picked up second-team honors.

The 2013 Big 12 Defensive Lineman of the Year, Mueller tied the school record in sacks with 11.5, a figure that ranked second in the Big 12 and eighth nationally. His total included a school-record tying three sacks at Texas Tech as he picked up Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week accolades, while he also earned the honor following the Iowa State game by totaling seven tackles with 2.5 sacks.

The Wildcats kick off the 2014 season with an August 30, matchup against Stephen F. Austin at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. The sixth-annual K-State Family Reunion will begin at 6:10 p.m.

— KSU Sports Information —

K-State’s Cantele named to Lou Groza Award watch list

Posted on July 9, 2014

Kansas State junior place kicker Jack Cantele was one of 30 players nationally and one of four from the Big 12 to be named to the Lou Groza Award watch list, the Palm Beach County Sports Commission announced Wednesday.

Cantele’s honor marks the eighth time a Wildcat place kicker has been mentioned for the award and the first since his older brother, Anthony, was a semifinalist in 2012. Martin Gramatica won the award in 1997 and was a runner-up in 1998. Jamie Rheem was a two-time runner-up in 1999 and 2000, while his younger brother, Joe, was a semifinalist in 2004. Brooks Rossman was also a candidate in 2007.

A former walk-on, Cantele was true on 11-of-13 field goals in 2013, including a 4-for-6 mark on attempts from at least 40 yards, while he was 40-of-41 on extra-point attempts. His 73 points last season ranked second in school history among sophomores, while his field goal percentage of 84.6-percent ranked fifth overall.

Cantele, a product of Wichita, Kansas, connected on all four field goal attempts against TCU, including the game-winner with three seconds remaining in a 33-31 victory. It was K-State’s first game-winning field goal with under a minute left in regulation since 1980 as he went on to earn Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week accolades.

Twenty semifinalists for the 2014 Lou Groza Award will be announced on Thursday, November 6, while three finalists will be chosen on Monday, November 24. The winner of the award will be announced Thursday, December 11, during the Home Depot College Football Awards Show on ESPN.

Kansas State opens the 2014 campaign against Stephen F. Austin on Saturday, August 30, a contest that serves as the sixth annual K-State Family Reunion. The game, which kicks off at 6:10 p.m.

— KSU Sports Information —

MU’s Boehm, KSU’s Finney, NU’s Pelini named to Rimington Award watch list

Posted on July 8, 2014

Missouri junior center Evan Boehm (Lee’s Summit, Mo.) was named to the 2014 Rimington Trophy Fall Watch List, the award’s committee announced Tuesday. Mizzou Football’s leader in the middle of the offensive line is one of 66 centers from across the country named to the list. The Rimington Trophy is presented annually to the most outstanding center in college football.

Boehm started all 14 games at center last season, anchoring Mizzou’s 12-2 campaign that garnered a Southeastern Conference Eastern Division title and Cotton Bowl Classic championship. Mizzou’s rushing offense (237.9 yards per game) ranked second in the SEC and 16th nationally.

Boehm has been a mainstay on the Tigers’ offensive line since he arrived in Columbia as a freshman in 2012, a season in which he started all 12 games at left guard and earned First Team Freshman All-America recognition from College Football News. He made the move to center during spring drills in 2013.

The fifteen-year old Rimington award is overseen by the Boomer Esiason Foundation, which is committed to finding a cure for cystic fibrosis and has raised over $100 million for CF Research.

Dave Rimington, the award’s namesake, was a consensus First Team All-America center at the University of Nebraska in 1981 and 1982, during which time he became the John Outland Trophy’s only double winner as the nation’s finest college interior lineman.

Mizzou Football fans are reminded that remaining 2014 season tickets will go on sale to the public beginning Thursday, July 10 at 6 p.m. CT, with online-only sales that evening at mutigers.com/buytickets. The next morning, Friday, July 11, beginning at 8 a.m., fans may also purchase season tickets by phone (1-800-CAT-PAWS or 884-PAWS in mid-Missouri), in person at the Mizzou Arena ticket office, or online. More ticket information can found here.

The Tigers kick off the 2014 season at Memorial Stadium/Faurot Field vs. South Dakota State at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 30.

— MU Sports Information —

Kansas State senior offensive lineman B.J. Finney was one of 66 players nationally to be named to the watch list for the Rimington Trophy, the award’s committee announced Tuesday.

Finney is a candidate for the award, presented annually to the nation’s most outstanding center, for a third-straight season. Prior to Finney’s first candidacy in 2012, only Nick Leckey (2003 finalist), Jordan Bedore (2008) and Wade Weibert (2010) were up for the award.

K-State’s first offensive lineman to serve as a team captain three times, Finney is a three-time All-Big 12 performer who earned first-team honors in both 2012 and 2013. The Andale, Kansas, product has started all 39 career games, including the last 38 at center, as he has helped the Wildcats accumulate a 29-10 record over the last three seasons.

The Rimington Trophy has raised over $2.5 million for the cystic fibrosis community. The 15-year old award is overseen by the Boomer Esiason Foundation, which is committed to finding a cure for cystic fibrosis and has raised over $100 million for CF Research. For more information on the Rimington Trophy and a list of its past recipients, visit www.rimingtontrophy.com.

The Wildcats begin the 2014 season on Saturday, August 30, with the sixth annual K-State Family Reunion against Stephen F. Austin at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.

— KSU Sports Information —

Nebraska senior Mark Pelini is one of 66 centers who have been named to the official watch list for the 2014 Rimington Trophy announced Tuesday morning.

The Rimington Trophy is presented annually to the nation’s top center. The award is named in honor of Dave Rimington who twice won the Outland Trophy and captured the Lombardi Award during his All-America career at Nebraska.

Pelini has been a valuable member of the Husker offensive line each of the past two seasons. A year ago, he saw extensive time at center and his role increased in the second half of the year when injuries hit the offensive front.

The 6-0, 290-pound Pelini helped Nebraska feature one of the nation’s top running attacks in 2013. Behind the play of the offensive line, I-back Ameer Abdullah racked up 1,690 rushing yards, the most by a Nebraska player since 1997.

Pelini will also be counted on for leadership on the offensive line in 2014. The Huskers graduated five seniors from its 2013 offensive line, leaving Pelini as one of the most experienced members of the position group.

— NU Sports Information —

K-State’s Lockett, Waters, Mueller named to preseason watch lists

Posted on July 7, 2014

Kansas State senior captains Tyler Lockett, Jake Waters and Ryan Mueller were each named to preseason watch lists for awards presented by the Maxwell Football Club, the organization announced Monday. Lockett and Waters are candidates for the Maxwell Award, presented to America’s College Player of the Year, while Mueller is up for the Bednarik Award as the College Defensive Player of the Year.

Each watch list is comprised of 76 players, while nine Big 12 players are up for the Maxwell Award and 14 Big 12 defenders are candidates for the Bednarik Award.

All three Wildcats are in the running for their respective awards for the first time, while K-State has multiple candidates for the Maxwell Award for the first time in school history. The Wildcats have had four candidates for each award over the last three seasons as Collin Klein (2012) and John Hubert (2013) were up for the Maxwell Award, and Arthur Brown (2012), Nigel Malone (2012) and Ty Zimmerman (2013) were candidates for the Bednarik Award.

A Second Team All-American at wide receiver in 2013, Lockett led the Big 12 last season with 105.2 receiving yards per game to go along with 11 touchdowns. The Tulsa, Oklahoma, product broke the school’s single-game record with 237 receiving yards at Texas and reset that mark with 278 against Oklahoma. Included in his game against the Sooners were 162 kickoff-return yards as he broke the school record and posted the fifth-most all-purpose yards in FBS history with 440.

Waters, who was a community-college transfer prior to the 2013 campaign, threw for 2,469 yards and 18 touchdowns on 159-of-260 aim during his first season in Manhattan. A native of Council Bluffs, Iowa, Waters led the Wildcats to a 6-1 record over the final seven games as he averaged 204.7 passing yards per game with 14 touchdowns and only four interceptions. He finished the season in the top-15 nationally in yards per completion (fourth; 15.53) and passing efficiency (14th; 156.8).

A former walk-on from Leawood, Kansas, Mueller is coming off a stellar junior campaign in which he tied the school record with 11.5 sacks to go along with 18.5 tackles for loss. A Second Team All-American, Mueller picked up Big 12 Defensive Lineman of the Year honors from the league’s coaches after ranking second in the league in both sacks and tackles for loss.

Semifinalists will be announced November 3, while the three finalists for each award will be unveiled November 24. The winners of the 2014 Maxwell and Bednarik awards will be announced as part of the Home Depot College Football Awards Show held December 11, on ESPN.

K-State opens the 2014 season on Saturday, August 30, with the sixth annual K-State Family Reunion against Stephen F. Austin at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. The contest, which kicks off at 6:10 p.m.

— KSU Sports Information —

K-State football season tickets sold out for second straight season

Posted on June 5, 2014June 5, 2014

For the second consecutive season, all available K-State football season tickets have been sold as department officials announced that public season sales for the 2014 season at Bill Snyder Family Stadium have reached the 35,000 mark.

Fans who ordered season tickets but did not receive a ticket location during the priority seating process will be refunded and placed on a waiting list for the 2015 season, which currently sits at more than 500 accounts. Those fans will also receive a promotional code by email on Friday for an exclusive pre-sale on Monday at k-statesports.com for any remaining tickets from the Stephen F. Austin, Texas Tech, Texas and KU visitor allotments. Any future visiting team returns throughout the fall will be offered first to current season ticket holders and fans on the season ticket waiting list. Fans wanting to join the wait list can do so by calling the K-State Athletics ticket office at 1.800.221.CATS.

“The K-State Nation is obviously excited for the 2014 football season,” said Athletics Director John Currie. “We appreciate the support of our fans who help provide our student-athletes a world-class experience by purchasing season tickets and filling Bill Snyder Family Stadium each week. Selling out of season tickets for the second consecutive year and creating the demand for a waiting list illustrates the passion and support K-Staters have for our football program.”

Information regarding ticket availability for next week’s single game public on-sale scheduled for Wednesday, June 11, at k-statesports.com will be issued on Tuesday morning. All seven home games are expected to sell out bringing the current sellout streak to 20 games.

The Wildcats open the season August 30 against Stephen F. Austin in a game that will be broadcast exclusively on K-StateHD.TV. Kickoff is slated for 6:10 p.m.

— KSU Sports Information —

Kansas State finally grants Leticia Romero release

Posted on May 27, 2014May 27, 2014

Kansas State granted a release to women’s basketball player Leticia Romero on Tuesday after amending its transfer policy, ending an embarrassing spat that had generated national attention.

Romero will be allowed to transfer to any school outside the Big 12 after the K-State Athletics Board of Directors approved the policy change.

Romero, who led the Wildcats in scoring as a freshman, had been seeking to transfer after coach Deb Patterson was fired. The school denied her request amid concerns that members of the previous staff were trying to persuade her to follow them to another school.

An appeals committee upheld the decision, and pundits ranging from Dick Vitale to fellow college basketball analyst Jay Bilas took to Twitter in Romero’s support.

Making the situation even more embarrassing was the fact that Kansas State president Kirk Schulz is a member of the NCAA executive committee, which has come under fire in recent years for a range of issues that include the policies governing when and where athletes may transfer.

In a letter to Schulz, Kansas State athletic director John Currie recommended on Monday the change to the school’s transfer policy. The resulting provision gives the athletic director power to retract a denial of a release if new information becomes available.

The policy change came less than a week after a separate, confidential letter from Currie to university administrator Pat Bosco surfaced. In it, Currie said he had spoken at length with Romero about tampering concerns and “she was direct that this was not the case.” Romero also told him that she would not be transferring to Northern Colorado, the school where Patterson and former assistants Kamie Ethridge, Kelly Moylan and Shalee Lehning had been hired.

Kansas State proved to be inflexible, though. In a statement last Wednesday, school vice president Jeffrey Morris maintained the appeals committee’s ruling was “final and binding, and there is no university procedure to re-examine one of those decisions.”

Romero had retained Alabama attorney Donald Jackson to represent her in the case.

Kansas State’s policy states that “except for the most compelling of circumstances, which place an undue burden on the student athlete, it is the policy of the department of intercollegiate athletics not to grant a release for the purposes of a transfer.”

Yet, just in the last few years, Kansas State has approved multiple transfers. Point guard Angel Rodriguez secured his release prior to last season and wound up at Miami, while quarterback Daniel Sams secured a release to transfer closer to his home in Louisiana.

Until she was granted a release, Romero was barred from receiving a scholarship at another Division I university for a year and prohibited from having any contact with another coach. Now, she will be able to receive financial aid immediately, though she will still have to sit out a season under NCAA transfer guidelines if she ends up at another Division I school.

— Associated Press —

KSU’s Mueller named to Lott IMPACT Trophy watch list

Posted on May 14, 2014May 14, 2014

Kansas State senior defensive end Ryan Mueller was one of 42 players nationally to be named to the Lott IPACT Trophy watch list, the pacific Club IMPACT Foundation announced Wednesday.

Now in its 11th year, the Lott IMPACT Trophy goes to the college football defensive player who has the biggest IMPACT (an acronym for Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community and Tenacity) on his team both on and off the field.

Mueller is the third Wildcat in the last three years to be named a candidate for the award, following defensive back Ty Zimmerman (2013) and Arthur Brown, who was finalist for the award in 2012.

One of seven Big 12 players on the 2014 watch list, Mueller is coming off a dominating junior season in which he tied the school record for sacks (11.5) on his way to All-America honors. A First Team All-Big 12 performer, Mueller was named Big 12 Defensive Lineman of the Year by the league’s coaches, was a two-time Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week (Iowa State, Texas Tech) honoree and a candidate for the Burlsworth Trophy and Ted Hendricks Award.

A former walk-on prior to the 2010 season, Mueller recorded at least a half tackle per game in 12 contests last year as he totaled 18.5 to rank ninth in school history. The Leawood, Kansas, product enters his senior campaign with 14 career sacks, just one shy of entering the school’s top-10 list.

The Lott IMPACT Trophy was named in honor of Ronnie Lott, a two time All-American for USC and College Football Hall of Fame inductee. Lott went on to win four Super Bowl rings with the San Francisco 49ers, earn 10 trips to the Pro Bowl and a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Always known as a fierce competitor, he was a leader who had IMPACT both on and off the field.

The award is unique because it represents the first trophy to give equal weight to personal character as well as athletic performance from a defensive college player and is the first national college football award based on the West Coast.

K-State begins its 118th season of football on Saturday, August 30, with a matchup against Stephen F. Austin in Bill Snyder Family Stadium, a game that serves as the sixth annual K-State Family Reunion. The home opener is the beginning of an exciting seven-game home schedule that is highlighted by a Thursday-night primetime matchup against BCS National Championship Runner-Up Auburn on September 18.

— KSU Sports Information —

Daniel Sams to transfer from Kansas State

Posted on May 13, 2014May 13, 2014

The explosive offense at Kansas State has apparently lost one of its weapons for next football season.

According to GoPowercat.com, Sherrell Griffin has confirmed that her son, Daniel Sams, will transfer from K-State. Sams switched from quarterback to wide receiver during spring drills, leaving Jake Waters as the leader of the Wildcat offense.

Not a lot of details are available at this time and Daniel Sams took to Twitter as he posted the following: “If twitter had enough characters to go on I will do that. I just wanna say I love my team, the fans, and this journey. #emaw at heart I promise”

Sams led all Big 12 quarterbacks with 807 yards rushing, which ranked ninth overall in the league. But during K-State’s late-season run, which included wins in six of its seven final games, Waters gradually took over the full-time job.

To get back on the field, Sams requested a position change to receiver during the spring. But he had only two grabs for nine yards in K-State’s spring game.

MWSU Hall of Famer Mittie named women’s coach at K-State

Posted on March 18, 2014March 18, 2014

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) – Jeff Mittie won his milestone 300th game at TCU this season by beating Kansas State.

Now, he’ll try to help the Wildcats beat the Horned Frogs.

Kansas State made the rare move of luring a head coach away from a conference rival on Tuesday, hiring Mittie to become its new women’s basketball coach. He replaces Deb Patterson, who was fired after 18 seasons that included nine NCAA tournament appearances.

Mittie resigned from the Horned Frogs, where he had spent the past 15 seasons, and agreed to a five-year contract with Kansas State that will pay $375,000 the first year with $25,000 increases each remaining year. He will also receive a $140,000 signing bonus.

“This was the youngest team in the Big 12 this year, so I’m excited to work with the players,” Mittie said. “I’m always excited about developing a team and that challenge. I think Kansas State and my family will be a really great fit.”

The parting of ways with the TCU appears to have been amicable, and it was about more than just the job. Mittie was raised in the Kansas City area, and his wife, Shanna, was born in Junction City, which is just a short drive from the Kansas State campus in Manhattan.

In essence, Mittie was making the decision to come home, even if it means he’ll be coaching against many of the players he recruited to TCU when the teams face each other next season.

“We can’t thank Jeff enough for the contributions he’s made to TCU and our women’s basketball program over the last 15 years,” athletic director Chris Del Conte said. “This was not a decision about TCU. This was a decision for Jeff on being able to go home and be closer to family.”

Mittie got his start in coaching at his alma mater, Missouri Western, before spending four wildly successful seasons at Arkansas State. He went on to TCU, a program that had a record of 208-402 and turning it into a consistent winner that went to nine NCAA tournaments.

Mittie had a record of 303-175 with the Horned Frogs, leading them to 13 winning seasons in the past 14 years. TCU went 18-14 this year and earned a berth in the WNIT, where associate head coach Brian Ostermann will lead the Horned Frogs in their game Wednesday night at Colorado.

“I’m looking forward to getting recruiting started across the state of Kansas,” Mittie said, “and developing those very important relationships.”

The Wildcats were a perennial powerhouse under Patterson from 2002-09, making the postseason every year and winning or sharing two Big 12 titles. But poor recruiting injuries to key players the last few years has caused the program to slip, and with it attendance and interest.

That was enough for Kansas State athletic director John Currie to relieve Patterson of her duties. Patterson had a record of 350-226 at Kansas State, not far off Mittie’s mark at TCU.

“We set out to find the very best basketball coach for K-State, whose personal values and integrity reflects those of our university and one that appreciates the unique opportunity of being part of our strong basketball tradition and commitment to championship performances,” Currie said in a statement, “and we are confident that Jeff Mittie is that person.”

— Associated Press —