Kansas State football garners more team than individual respect in Big 12 preseason polls

For all the respect Kansas State football received in Big 12 preseason polls going into Tuesday’s media day in Las Vegas, the Wildcats did not get much love individually.

It is hard to fathom, even in an expanded 16-team league, that the Wildcats were picked second behind Utah and yet did not have a single player named to the media’s preseason all-conference team.

That fact was not lost on K-State coach Chris Klieman, though he made it clear during his news conference that he wasn’t losing any sleep over it.

“I don’t pay a lot of attention to it, to be honest with you,” he said. “Everybody sees it, but it’s not something we talk about an awful lot.”

The way free safety Marques Sigle looks at it, the team-wide snub only fuels their fire. There is just one way to change people’s perception.

“It’s motivation,” Sigle told K-State Online. “We’re underdogs, they’re overlooking us, so we’re going to show them when the time comes, when it’s time to put the pads on, on Saturday.”

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The Wildcats have several candidates to merit all-conference consideration, Sigle among them. Last year K-State had a pair of first-team selections in offensive lineman Cooper Beebe and tight end Ben Sinnott, plus quarterback Will Howard, defensive end Khalid Duke and safety Kobe Savage on the second unit.

All of them have moved on, leaving only second-team linebacker Austin Moore. That opens the door for some new players to step forward.

The lack of individual recognition tells Klieman that his program as a whole is on solid footing.

“I hope it shows people the overall depth and value of our roster and how important our role players are and how important our players are as far as if you’re a successful team, individual honors at the end of the season are going to come,” he said. “I’m sure that our players, if you asked them, they probably saw both polls, and I don’t know if they’re excited, disappointed, but I know they were aware that there was nobody from K-State on one of those teams.”

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Moore, now a third-year starter, certainly could break through, as could junior cornerback Jacob Parrish on defense. On the offense, junior running back DJ Giddens rushed for 1,226 yards but blends in at a position that is loaded, while offensive lineman Hadley Panzer will be a third-year starter.

The most intriguing prospect is sophomore quarterback Avery Johnson who only has two career start and one of them at receiver. But like Giddens, he plays a position loaded with proven veterans.

“You’ve still got to perform,” Klieman said, “and we’ve got a lot of work to do before we get to the end of August.”

Who knows how things will look by the time December rolls around.

Arne Green is based in Salina and covers Kansas State University sports for the Gannett network. He can be reached at agreen@gannett.com or on Twitter at @arnegreen.