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88 MINUS 10 DAYS TO 2016 KICKOFF: Dayton Valentine

In which BracketCat counts down the 88th day until the 2016 kickoff with a profile of tight end Dayton Valentine.

By BracketCat
Am I saying Dayton Valentine can be as good a tight end as one of K-State's greats, Thomas Hill? Not necessarily, but I think the former has some physical traits that could lead him to emulate some of the latter's accomplishments.
Am I saying Dayton Valentine can be as good a tight end as one of K-State's greats, Thomas Hill? Not necessarily, but I think the former has some physical traits that could lead him to emulate some of the latter's accomplishments.
Brian Bahr/Getty Images

#88 Dayton Valentine
Redshirt Sophomore
6-4 | 262
Baldwin City, Kan.

Bio

Position: Tight End

Previous College: None

Projection: Co-Starter

Status: On Scholarship

Dayton Lee Valentine (b. March 25, 1995) is a physical player who originally signed with K-State in 2013 as a grayshirt before redshirting during the 2014 season. He saw significant time at tight end as a redshirt freshman.

Valentine, who will continue to compete for the sole starting nod at tight end in 2016, started for the Purple team in the last two spring games. He caught two passes for 13 yards in 2015 and two passes for 15 yards in 2016.

During the 2015 season, Valentine played 11 games, with starts against Texas, Texas Tech and Iowa State, and recorded a pair of tackles on punt coverage. But he has yet to catch a pass in a real, live football game.

He played under head coach Mike Berg at Baldwin High School, where he helped the Bulldogs to earn a 7-4 record during his senior season in 2012 as they advanced to Round 2 of the Kansas Class 4A state playoffs.

Valentine was selected to play in the 2013 Kansas Shrine Bowl. He was named a first-team All-State Class 4A defensive end by The Topeka Capital-Journal and an honorable-mention all-state selection by VarsityKansas.com.

A star in track and field who won the Class 4A state championship in discus and shot put as a junior, Valentine also caught two passes for 13 yards for the White team in the 2014 spring game. Watch his highlights here.