Kansas State football player’s dad blasts sport’s current state as son departs

MANHATTAN — Kansas State will have a new kick returner come fall after Bryce Noernberg departed the team, and his dad used some colorful language in a Facebook post to announce it.

A K-State spokesperson confirmed that Noernberg left the team after the spring season. He returned 20 kicks over the last two seasons for an average of 27.8 yards per return. He scored one touchdown and also coughed up the ball multiple times.

In a Facebook post, Noernberg’s father, Scott, wrote that it had been an amazing few years in Manhattan, but then “Division I college football does what it does.”

“New head coach Colin (sic) Klein brought in all new coaches and players… paid them accordingly and (Noernberg) found himself at the bottom of the depth chart,” Scott Noernberg wrote. “Not wanting to start over again as a true walk-on freshman, he basically told them to kiss his ass!!

“Well done Bryce! I’m so proud that you stood up to the system! D1 athletics is in a very sad state, and it’s times like this that make you grow as a man!”

Also a wide receiver, Noernberg saw one offensive snap over his two seasons with the program. He was unlikely to find an offensive role for the Wildcats this year, considering the return of Jaron Tibbs and the additions of Josh Manning, Izaiah Williams, and Derrick Salley Jr. Other returning players, like Adonis Moise and Larry Porter IV, were also considered ahead of him.

His departure does leave a void at kick returner, which Noernberg wasn’t guaranteed to keep heading into the year.

Wyatt D. Wheeler covers Kansas State athletics for the USA TODAY Network and Topeka Capital-Journal. You can follow him on X at @WyattWheeler_, contact him at 417-371-6987 or email him at wwheeler@usatodayco.com