MANHATTAN, Kan. (Ryan Lackey) – Kansas State junior punter Nick Walsh is one of 52 candidates nationally, including four from the Big 12, to be named a candidate for the 2016 Burlsworth Trophy, the Springdale Rotary Club announced Tuesday.
The Burlsworth Trophy is presented to the most outstanding football player in America who began his career as a walk-on and has shown outstanding performance on the field. Walsh is the Wildcats’ fifth candidate since the award’s inception in 2010, joining William Powell (2010), B.J. Finney (2011-12), Ryan Mueller (2013) and Jonathan Truman (2014). Finney and Truman both advanced to become semifinalists for the award.
In two-plus seasons, Walsh has averaged 41.7 yards on 137 career punt attempts to rank sixth and 10th in school history, respectively. Additionally, his 5,715 career punting yards are just 85 yards shy of tying for 10th in school history.
Walsh, who has seen 35 of his career punts land inside the opponent’s 20-yard line, set a new career-best average of 50.3 yards earlier this season against Texas Tech, which included a season long 58-yard punt.
The Burlsworth Trophy is named in honor of Brandon Burlsworth, who walked on at Arkansas in 1994 before becoming a three-year starter and al All-American in 1998. Burlsworth was selected as the 63rd overall pick in the 1999 NFL Draft by the Indianapolis Colts but was tragically killed in a car accident 11 days later.
The Springdale Rotary Club will host an awards ceremony on December 5, in Springdale, Arkansas, to honor the three finalists and announce the 2016 winner.
