:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/46373852/usa-today-8347297.0.jpg)
Kansas State announced this afternoon that four new members have been inducted into the extremely selective K-State Football Ring of Honor, and will be unveiled at halftime of the season opener against South Dakota on September 5. The names of Michael Bishop, Jordy Nelson, Clarence Scott, and Darren Sproles will become permanent fixtures at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
Bishop, the 1998 Heisman Trophy runner-up and Davey O'Brien Award winner, led K-State to a 22-3 record in 1997 and 1998, taking the Wildcats to within minutes of a trip to the BCS National Championship Game before things suddenly went awry.
Nelson, a former walk-on, was a consensus All-American in 2007 before embarking on a fruitful career in the NFL with the Green Bay Packers. Tyler Lockett didn't break every K-State receiving record; Nelson still holds the single-season yardage and receptions records.
Scott was a Sporting News All-American in 1970, and went on to a 13-year career with the Cleveland Browns. He was a Pro Bowl selection in 1973, and is already a member of the K-State Athletics Hall of Fame. Scott served, along with former NFL MVP Larry Brown, as one of the honorary captains for this year's Spring Game at Sporting Park.
Sproles was a Heisman Finalist in 2003, and his name still strikes terror into the hearts of Oklahoma Sooner fans after he shredded their defense in the 2003 Big 12 Championship Game. Holder of the school's all-time rushing record and single-season all-purpose yardage record, Sproles has since gone on to a decade-long career in the NFL with San Diego, New Orleans, and Philadelphia.
The quartet joins the ten men already enshrined: David Allen, Lynn Dickey, Martin Gramatica, Steve Grogan, Jaime Mendez, Terence Newman, Sean Snyder, Veryl Switzer, and College Football Hall of Famers Mark Simoneau and Gary Spani. Notably, the inclusion of Bishop, Scott, and Sproles decisively answers the question of whether consensus first-team All-American recognition is an absolute requirement to get into the Ring of Honor; indeed, the words "or performed at a program-transformational level that warrants consideration" were explicitly highlighted in the portion of the press release detailing the qualifications for inclusion.