Kansas State offensive lineman Dalton Risner and defensive back Kendall Adams have been named to the Preseason All-Big 12 team as chosen by media representatives who cover the league. This is according to a release from K-State.
It is the second-straight year that Risner, a Preseason All-American by numerous publications, has been named to the Preseason All-Big 12 team, while Adams is a first-time honoree.
A product of Wiggins, Colorado, Risner enters his senior year coming off First Team All-America accolades in 2017 from Pro Football Focus (PFF), while he earned second-team honors from CBSSports.com. Risner started all 12 regular-season games at right tackle and graded out at a 98.9 mark on pass blocking efficiency to tie for the fourth highest among FBS tackles, according to PFF. Additionally, he allowed only three quarterback pressures according to PFF, the fewest among 2018 draft-eligible tackles.
A First Team All-Big 12 pick by the league’s coaches for a second-straight year, Risner led the Wildcats to a tie for third place in school history in rushing yards per carry (4.98), while they finished seventh in program history with 2,584 total rushing yards.
Risner, who earned 2017 First Team Academic All-Big 12 honors, was named the 2017-18 Big 12 Male Sportsperson of the Year among all conference-sponsored sports due to his caring side away from the football field.
Adams, who has started 28 career games entering his senior year, started 10 contests in 2017 before an injury cut his campaign short. Despite the setback, Adams still finished fourth on the team in tackles with 63 stops, while he carded three picks on the year to rank fifth in the Big 12 in interceptions per game (0.3).
Perhaps Adams’ best game of the year came against Charlotte when he returned an interception 30 yards for a touchdown and a fumble 46 yards for another score en route to Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week honors. The Fort Worth, Texas, native became the first Wildcat with both a pick-six and a fumble recovery score in the game same since in Dyshod Carter against Missouri in 1999, while he was just the third Big 12 player to accomplish the feat (Texas Tech’s Paul McClendon vs. North Texas in 2001).
Kansas State travels to The Star in Frisco, Texas, to participate in 2018 Big 12 Football Media Day next Tuesday. Live coverage of media day will be from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., on FS2 and various FSN regional affiliates.
