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I was tempted to reuse Jon Morse's ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ from yesterday's Slate, if only because a picture is worth a thousand words. But today, while meh, might be slightly less meh than Monday.
Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays BracketCat from the swift completion of the football roster countdown. We're now up #54 for Scott Frantz, an offensive lineman likely to redshirt this year before probably slotting in at left tackle.
The dog days of summer are definitely here. For those of you not living in the middle of the country, you've missed out on some scorching heat and near-obscene humidity. Your loss. We do have a smattering of football-related news to help you cool off a little.
For Dante Barnett, the honors just keep rolling in. Already named to watch lists for the Bednarik Award and Nagurski Trophy, Barnett was also named to the watch list for the Jim Thorpe Award for the nation's best defensive back. He finds himself in pretty good company, as previous Thorpe honorees include 2002 winner Terence Newman, 2011 and 2012 semifinalist Nigel Malone, 2013 semifinalist Ty Zimmerman, and from way back in Snyder 1.0, 1993 semifinalist Jaime Mendez.
Speaking of former Wildcats, Eric Wolford, now an assistant with the San Francisco 49ers, was back in Manhattan for a charity golf event last weekend, as detailed in this SportsExtra feature from Kelly McHugh. The event was in support of Wolford's organization, No Stone Unturned, a nonprofit that supports research into health benefits, disabilities and mental health concerns for children. The event was preceded by a dinner and featured several former Wildcats stars as attendees, including Michael Bishop, Steve Grogan, Shad Meier, and recent graduates Tyler Lockett, B.J. Finney and Ryan Mueller, among others.
Meanwhile, in non-Kansas State news, Bill Connelly's power rankings are out, and, in a move that surprises at least me, the Big 12 is led not by TCU but by Baylor. I'm also not sure what to make of Kansas State being behind both Oklahoma State and Texas. But Bill C frequently sees what is not so obvious to me, so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. Then again, he does hate Kansas State, so...
With fall just around the corner, the volleyball team is gearing up for a new season. Susie Fritz announced the team's four-player leadership council (basically team captains) yesterday: second-time leaders Katie Brand, Kirsten Kober, Katie Reininger and first-time member Kylee Zumach. (If your name doesn't begin with the letter "K," do not even bother applying). In addition to leadership on court, the players are expected to mentor student-athletes off court to prepare for leadership roles after Kansas State.