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Thanks to his 71-yard punt return touchdown to help fuel No. 13 Kansas State’s 31-7 victory over Arizona, sophomore running back Dylan Edwards has been named the Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week, the conference office announced Monday afternoon.
It is the second weekly conference honor in Edwards’ career as he was named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week after his first-career game last season while playing for Colorado. Edwards’ honor this year is the Wildcats’ 64th special teams weekly accolade since 1997 and the third-straight year a Wildcat has been honored for their work on special teams.
With the game tied, 7-7, just six seconds into the second quarter, Edwards fielded a punt on one hop, went left toward the K-State sideline and out-ran the Arizona coverage unit for the score.
“What a great award for him,” Klieman said in a press conference Monday afternoon. “And he would tell you the same thing, great award for our punt return team because there were some really good blocks on that return. We all know all Dylan needs is a little bit of crease or some green grass and he’s going to make some things happen. But I thought we blocked extremely well, that was a total team effort on that, great return.”
He became the first K-State running back to record a punt-return touchdown since Darren Sproles took one back 63 yards against Kansas in 2003, while it was the longest by a K-State running back since David Allen had a 74-yarder at Texas in 1999. It was also K-State’s first non-blocked punt-return touchdown since the second game of the 2022 season.
A product of Derby, Kansas, Edwards has recorded four touchdowns on just 22 touches this year with two on the ground, one via a reception and one on a punt return. He is the first Wildcat with a rushing, receiving and return touchdown over the first three games of a season since Deon Murphy did so in 2007. He leads the Big 12 with a 27.0-yard return average this season.
The Wildcats open their Big 12 schedule Saturday night in a 9:30 p.m. CT contest at BYU. The game will be televised on ESPN.
Klieman honored after win
Coming off a dominating 31-7 victory over No. 20 Arizona last Friday, Kansas State head coach Chris Klieman has been named The Dodd Trophy Coach of the Week, the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation and Peach Bowl announced Monday.
The Dodd Trophy Coach of the Week award honors a football coach who led his team to a significant victory during the previous week, while also embodying the award’s three pillars of scholarship, leadership and integrity.
This is the third time in Klieman’s six seasons at K-State that he has earned the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Week honor after also picking up the accolade following the 2020 and 2022 Oklahoma games.
“Coach Klieman has built the Kansas State football program into a consistent winner and a formidable force in the Big 12,” said Jim Terry, chairman of the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation, in a written statement. “This was an impressive victory early in the season that has the Wildcats poised to be in contention for a spot in the new 12-team College Football Playoff.”
K-State’s win over 20th-ranked Arizona was the first regular-season non-conference home win over a ranked opponent since 2002, versus No. 11 USC. The Wildcats are now 3-0 for the third time under Klieman and the first time since 2021.
Kick time for OSU on 6-day delay
The Big 12 Conference and its television partners announced on Monday that the kick time and television designation for Kansas State’s 2024 league home opener against Oklahoma State on September 28 will be announced this coming Sunday. The Big 12 television partners receive four total six-day selections each year.
K-State will be in search of its second-straight home victory over the Cowboys for the first time since 2012 and 2014.
Last time in Manhattan, K-State earned a 48-0 shutout over ninth-ranked OSU, which was the largest ever shutout win by a lower-ranked team against a team ranked in the top 10 of the Associated Press Top 25.
