It's a pretty slow news days today, so we're going to keep it pretty simple here. Look ma, no fancy headers!
BracketCat counts us down to real live football, with a familiar name, #56 Terrale Johnson.
Kansas State's defense could be pretty salty this season. Dante Barnett, Duke Shelley, Elijah Lee and Will Geary have all been named to preseason watch lists from the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA). Barnett, Shelley and Lee were named to the Bronko Nagurski Trophy watch list – presented to the nation's most outstanding defensive player – while Geary landed on the Outland Trophy watch list, which is awarded to the nation's most outstanding interior lineman. The last season so many defensive players were named to the Nagurski watch list was in 2012 (Arthur Brown, Nigel Malone, and Allen Chapman), and we all know how that season turned out. Geary is the first Kansas State defensive player to be named to the Outland Trophy list since Tank Reese in 2002.
What is the value of summer workouts? In the Big 12 at least, these workouts seem to lay the foundation for the entire season. ESPN's Brandon Chatmon spoke to coaches at some conference schools to gauge the importance of preseason strength and conditioning. Rudy Wade of Iowa State notes that coaches may prepare the team for Game 1, but the goal of summer workouts is to train players for camp.
We discussed this news some time ago, but it's now official. Collin Klein will be the new quarterbacks coach for the University of Northern Iowa. The Panthers seem pretty excited, and for his part, Klein was predictably grateful for the opportunity as well as gracious in thanking the Kansas State community.
Grateful to Coach Snyder & the KSU Family for last 7 yrs!KSU will always be apart of my journey. Excited to join UNI's program. Go Panthers!
— Collin Klein (@ckleincat7) July 8, 2016
In his latest letter to the Kansas State community, John Currie notes that K-State Athletics, Inc. produced a balanced budget for FY2016 and a budget surplus for the seventh consecutive year. Operating revenue exceeded projections by about $7.5M, and the athletic department raised about $28.3M, including a record $18.1M in Ahearn Fund donations.
Akela Jones has already qualified to represent Barbados at the Olympics. In this SE feature, she talks to Corbin McGuire about her recruitment to Kansas State and all the work she's put in to her Olympic training. She also talks about how she had to leave Barbados to get the proper training, but she hopes to put her country's name on the map forever via her athletic achievements.