K-State Slate: 4.16.15 - Replacing Finney

Kansas State is in rebuilding mode this season thanks to the departure of players with talent and years of experience. Chief among those was center B.J. Finney, and replacing him is a tall order for the Wildcats (Emilio Rivera, K-State Collegian). Finney was a three-time captain and started all 52 games of his career, becoming a Rimington Trophy finalist in 2014. Bill Snyder is hoping that sophomore Reid Najvar and redshirt freshman Dalton Risner will step up and fill the void for the team. Risner, who is practicing with the No. 1's, probably has the inside track. If nothing else, the staff hopes to be two-deep at all positions on the offensive line, including in the middle.

Tyler Lockett is getting a lot of NFL love these days. The draft geeks at Field Gulls (a Seattle Seahawks site) are raving about his fight and his hands, while Detroit Lions fans wonder if Lockett might be their go-to return man (Tony Fischer, Detroit Jock City)

Thomas Gipson and Nino Williams were honored as co-Most Valuable Players for the season at Kansas State's annual basketball awards banquet. This was the second such honor for Gipson, who also took the award home last year, and Gipson was also named winner of the Jack Hartman Top Defensive Player and Bob Boozer Courage awards. Williams was named the winner of the Ernie Barrett Play Hard and Tex Winter Top Offensive Player awards. Brian Rohleder also took home three awards, including the award for most inspirational player. Wesley Iwundu was named Mitch Richmond Mr. Basketball for the season.

The Kansas State track and field athletes travel to Lawrence this week for the 88th Kansas Relays. The event is a quadrangular meet for the very first time, featuring Kansas State, Colorado State and Purdue in addition to host Kansas. In this meet, only the top two finishers in each event earn points. Look for consistently strong Wildcats like Akela Jones, A'Keyla Mitchell, Sara Savatovic, Sonia Gaskin, Nate Gipson, Terrell Smith and Zack Riley, all nationally ranked in various events, to bring home some points. The K-State Collegian also has coverage (Emilio Rivera).