One Kansas State Wildcat Deserved Another Post-Season Award
By Stan Unruh
I hate to complain about post-season awards. However, a member of the Kansas State Wildcat football team was overlooked for one award.
When the Big 12 conference announced the coaches’ All-Big 12 selections and specialty awards last week the Kansas State football team had every reason to celebrate.
Thirteen football players earned special recognition. Each one deserved the attention.
Senior defensive end Jordan Willis was named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year and Big 12 Defensive Lineman of the Year in addition to being a unanimous selection on the All-Big 12 First Team. Sophomore defensive back D.J. Reed picked up Big 12 Defensive Newcomer of the Year and First Team All-Big 12 honors, while redshirt freshman defensive end Reggie Walker was named the Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year. The four specialty awards by the Wildcats this year improved their total to 17 since the 2011 season, five more than any other team in the league.
In addition to Willis and Reed, K-State’s other First Team All-Big 12 selections included fullback Winston Dimel, offensive lineman Dalton Risner, kick returner Byron Pringle and linebacker Elijah Lee. The six Wildcats on the first team were the second-most to conference champion Oklahoma and marked the second time in the last three years K-State garnered six first-team selections.
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Coaches made a mistake when they named Texas punter Michael Dickson as the special teams player of the year. That award should have gone to the Wildcat’s Byron Pringle.
Pringle, a community-college transfer, led the Big 12 and ranks eighth nationally with a 28.7-yard average on kickoff returns, which is highlighted by a 99-yard touchdown against Texas Tech. The Tampa, Florida, native sits fifth in school history in total kickoff return yards (659) and ninth in average. I’ve posted his stats below.
| RUSHING | g | att | yards | td | long | avg/c | avg/g |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 12 | 3 | 12 | 0 | 5 | 4.0 | 1.0 |
| TOTAL | 12 | 3 | 12 | 0 | 5 | 4.0 | 1.0 |
| TOTAL OFFENSE | g | rush | pass | total | avg/g |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 12 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 1.0 |
| TOTAL | 12 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 1.0 |
| RECEIVING | g | rec | yards | td | long | rec/g | avg/c | avg/g |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 12 | 36 | 524 | 3 | 83 | 3.0 | 14.6 | 43.7 |
| TOTAL | 12 | 36 | 524 | 3 | 83 | 3.0 | 14.6 | 43.7 |
| SCORING | g | td | rush | rcv | ret | pat | 2pat | fg | total | avg/g |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 2.0 |
| TOTAL | 12 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 2.0 |
| PUNT RETURNS | g | no. | yards | td | long | avg/r | avg/g |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 12 | 8 | 62 | 0 | 43 | 7.8 | 5.2 |
| TOTAL | 12 | 8 | 62 | 0 | 43 | 7.8 | 5.2 |
| KICK RETURNS | g | no. | yards | td | long | avg/r | avg/g |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 12 | 23 | 659 | 1 | 99 | 28.7 | 54.9 |
| TOTAL | 12 | 23 | 659 | 1 | 99 | 28.7 | 54.9 |
| ALL PURPOSE | g | rush | rcv | pr | kr | ir | total | avg/g |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 12 | 12 | 524 | 62 | 659 | 0 | 1257 | 104.8 |
| TOTAL | 12 | 12 | 524 | 62 | 659 | 0 | 1257 | 104.8 |
| #9 Pringle, Byron | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rushing | Receiving | Passing | Kick Ret | Punt Ret | all | |||||||||||||||||
| Date | Opponent | no. | yds | td | lg | no. | yds | td | lg | c-a-i | yds | td | lg | no. | yds | td | lg | no. | yds | td | lg | purp |
| Sep 02, 2016 | at Stanford | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 0 | 14 | 0-0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 45 | 0 | 26 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 64 |
| Sep 17, 2016 | FLORIDA ATLANTIC | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 36 | 0 | 36 | 0-0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 40 |
| Sep 24, 2016 | MISSOURI STATE | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 30 | 1 | 19 | 0-0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 35 | 0 | 35 | 1 | 43 | 0 | 43 | 108 |
| Oct. 1, 2016 | at West Virginia | 1 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 61 | 0 | 19 | 0-0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 101 | 0 | 58 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 167 |
| Oct 08, 2016 | TEXAS TECH | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 26 | 0 | 16 | 0-0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 159 | 1 | 99 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 185 |
| Oct 15, 2016 | at Oklahoma | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 43 | 0 | 26 | 0-0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 102 | 0 | 59 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 145 |
| Oct 22, 2016 | TEXAS | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 42 | 1 | 14 | 0-0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 46 | 0 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 88 |
| Oct 29, 2016 | at Iowa State | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 14 | 0 | 13 | 0-0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 29 | 0 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 47 |
| Nov 05, 2016 | OKLAHOMA STATE | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 9 | 0-0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 142 | 0 | 38 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 154 |
| Nov 19, 2016 | at Baylor | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 46 | 0 | 19 | 0-0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 46 |
| Nov 26, 2016 | KANSAS | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 77 | 0 | 18 | 0-0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 18 | 0 | 18 | 95 |
| Dec 03, 2016 | at TCU | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 126 | 1 | 83 | 0-0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -8 | 0 | 0 | 118 |
| Totals | 3 | 12 | 0 | 5 | 36 | 524 | 3 | 83 | 0-0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 659 | 1 | 99 | 8 | 62 | 0 | 43 | 1257 |
| Games: 12 Avg/rush: 4.0 Avg/catch: 14.6 KR avg: 28.7 PR avg: 7.8 All purpose avg/game: 104.8 Total offense avg/gm: 1.0 |
Michael Dickson, the Sophomore from Sydney, Australia also had a great year and definitely deserved to be named the Big 12’s top punter.
Who cares about punting? Field position is important and Dickson is a fabulous punter.
Byron Pringle is one of the most exciting player in the Big 12 Conference. Byron Pringle is why fans watch kickoffs and punts. They want to see him fake, juke and run to the end zone.
Maybe Kansas State received too many post-season awards? The coaches missed big time on this award.
Pringle played one season at Butler County Community College under head coach Tim Schaffner and was rated the 44th best community-college prospect – including the No. 9 wide receiver – by ESPN, according to his K-State bio.
Rivals.com and Scout.com also regarded him as one of the top 100 community-college prospects in the Class of 2016.
I can’t wait to see him run past the Aggies in the bowl game.