SE: Taking Flight — Dayton Valentine Making Most of Time with K-State Football
Sep 19, 2017 | Football, Sports Extra
Wildcat Tight End Pursuing Career as Pilot
Sitting in a Cessna 172, Dayton Valentine received a startling order.
"'Alright, you're taking off. You're doing everything and if you mess up, I'll take over,'' Valentine recalled being told in his first lab class at Kansas State Polytechnic, where he is pursuing a degree in aeronautical technology. "It's kind of, like, 'Alright, well we'll see how it goes.'"
Valentine got the plane off the ground without any issue, only giving up the controls to let his instructor land. This summer, Valentine earned his private pilot's license and took a step toward his ultimate career goal of becoming a professional pilot. Soon, he'll be soaring over the Flint Hills in a more advanced model of the Cessna 172.
"People always ask how it is and I say it's a lot better than real school," said Valentine, who graduated last December from K-State with a degree in kinesiology. "I'm having a blast doing it. It's really cool to go out there and fly around while I know I could be sitting in a classroom somewhere."
For Valentine, the aviation dream was somewhat predetermined.
He was named after the official birthplace of aviation and home of the Wright brothers: Dayton, Ohio. His late father, Jeff Valentine, was an air traffic controller for the FAA at the Kansas City Air Route Traffic Control Center in Olathe for many years. As a result, Valentine attended many air shows growing up and became fascinated with the idea of one day becoming a pilot.
"I think my first childhood career choice was to be a fireman and then the second one was to be a pilot," Valentine said. "It's just something that I've always been interested in."
Football was another interest, one that Valentine excelled at. He earned all-state honors as a defensive end for his senior season at Baldwin High School and played in the 2013 Kansas Shrine Bowl.
Valentine came to K-State as a tight end, placing him at a position where a thorough understanding of the offense is needed. He had to acquire a working knowledge of the Wildcats' run-blocking and pass-blocking schemes, as well as K-State's route-running tree.
"You have to be able to know all of it," Valentine said. "It's something that I do enjoy, knowing the entire big picture and trying to know what everybody does on every single play."
Surprising as it may sound, Valentine said this process, at least in the early stages, was more difficult than learning to fly an airplane.
"I have (the offense) down pretty good now, but initially, learning the offense was harder," he said. "Learning to fly, I was kind of just thrown into the fire. Learning to land is tough; that's the hardest part, for sure. But I'd say, it took a lot longer to get an initial grasp of the offense when I first came here."
Fortunately, Valentine was able to fly under the radar for a few years. He started at K-State as a grayshirt and was a redshirt in 2014, giving him two years to ready his body and mind for the field. Since then, he's ascended to become a valuable piece of the Wildcats' offense.
In 2015, he played in 11 games that included three starts. Last year, he started all 13 games for the Wildcats, serving mostly as an extension of an offensive line that helped pave the way to a school-record 5.27 yards per rush.
"Dayton's a heck of a tight end. He knows what he's doing. His head is in the playbook. He knows the plays, and he's a great athlete," K-State redshirt junior right tackle Dalton Risner said. "Dayton Valentine brings a lot of leadership to the team but he's also another offensive lineman out there and that's really critical to have in a tight end. At the same time, if you throw him the ball, I believe he'll catch it."
Added K-State senior quarterback Jesse Ertz: "Everyone talks about the offensive line and how good they are, and he's just as much of an offensive lineman as they are. Hopefully we get some opportunities to get him the ball more, but until then, he'll be doing well at whatever he is doing."
While Valentine, with one catch this season, may not get the ball thrown his way often, his focus is to be prepared for every situation he might encounter.
"One thing I love about being a tight end is just the ability to be versatile and be asked to do multiple things. I just want to do whatever the team needs from me, whatever the coaches ask of me and just be able to go out there and execute it to the best of my ability," the redshirt junior said. "It's one of those where I don't care how many times I get the ball. I just want to be the best player, all around, that I can be and do whatever the team needs of me."
His team-first attitude was evident last year and throughout the offseason, as he was voted to be a captain by his teammates.
"Dayton Valentine really stepped up in this last year and took on the leadership role. Whenever times were getting tough in workouts or whenever someone needed something, Dayton was there," Risner said. "It really made the difference and a lot of the guys on the team noticed it. If you step up and you're a leader and you lead by example at Kansas State, guys are going to notice."
Valentine said becoming a captain was never a goal he set out to achieve. Rather, he added, it was a result of his everyday approach of "trying to be the best player and best teammate that I can be."
"I just want to prove them right, make them proud and just be the best teammate, leader and person I can be," he continued. "It's a big honor and more responsibility to do the best I can."
An Honorable Mention All-Big 12 pick by the league's coaches last season, Valentine also never expected to be placed on the preseason watch list for the John Mackey Award, given to college football's most outstanding tight end. He's the first Wildcat tight end to land on the watch list since 2009, and he's just the third candidate for the award in school history.
When asked what the honor meant, Valentine said he wanted to treat it similarly to being named a captain.
"It's one of those things where it feels good to be on a preseason watch list, to know that people might be out there looking, wanting to watch you play, but it's also something that it is just a watch list and there's a lot of names on there," said Valentine, one of 55 players on the preseason watch list. "You want to prove all of those people right that put you on there."
"'Alright, you're taking off. You're doing everything and if you mess up, I'll take over,'' Valentine recalled being told in his first lab class at Kansas State Polytechnic, where he is pursuing a degree in aeronautical technology. "It's kind of, like, 'Alright, well we'll see how it goes.'"
Valentine got the plane off the ground without any issue, only giving up the controls to let his instructor land. This summer, Valentine earned his private pilot's license and took a step toward his ultimate career goal of becoming a professional pilot. Soon, he'll be soaring over the Flint Hills in a more advanced model of the Cessna 172.
"People always ask how it is and I say it's a lot better than real school," said Valentine, who graduated last December from K-State with a degree in kinesiology. "I'm having a blast doing it. It's really cool to go out there and fly around while I know I could be sitting in a classroom somewhere."
For Valentine, the aviation dream was somewhat predetermined.
He was named after the official birthplace of aviation and home of the Wright brothers: Dayton, Ohio. His late father, Jeff Valentine, was an air traffic controller for the FAA at the Kansas City Air Route Traffic Control Center in Olathe for many years. As a result, Valentine attended many air shows growing up and became fascinated with the idea of one day becoming a pilot.
"I think my first childhood career choice was to be a fireman and then the second one was to be a pilot," Valentine said. "It's just something that I've always been interested in."
Football was another interest, one that Valentine excelled at. He earned all-state honors as a defensive end for his senior season at Baldwin High School and played in the 2013 Kansas Shrine Bowl.
Valentine came to K-State as a tight end, placing him at a position where a thorough understanding of the offense is needed. He had to acquire a working knowledge of the Wildcats' run-blocking and pass-blocking schemes, as well as K-State's route-running tree.
"You have to be able to know all of it," Valentine said. "It's something that I do enjoy, knowing the entire big picture and trying to know what everybody does on every single play."
Surprising as it may sound, Valentine said this process, at least in the early stages, was more difficult than learning to fly an airplane.
"I have (the offense) down pretty good now, but initially, learning the offense was harder," he said. "Learning to fly, I was kind of just thrown into the fire. Learning to land is tough; that's the hardest part, for sure. But I'd say, it took a lot longer to get an initial grasp of the offense when I first came here."
Fortunately, Valentine was able to fly under the radar for a few years. He started at K-State as a grayshirt and was a redshirt in 2014, giving him two years to ready his body and mind for the field. Since then, he's ascended to become a valuable piece of the Wildcats' offense.
In 2015, he played in 11 games that included three starts. Last year, he started all 13 games for the Wildcats, serving mostly as an extension of an offensive line that helped pave the way to a school-record 5.27 yards per rush.
"Dayton's a heck of a tight end. He knows what he's doing. His head is in the playbook. He knows the plays, and he's a great athlete," K-State redshirt junior right tackle Dalton Risner said. "Dayton Valentine brings a lot of leadership to the team but he's also another offensive lineman out there and that's really critical to have in a tight end. At the same time, if you throw him the ball, I believe he'll catch it."
Added K-State senior quarterback Jesse Ertz: "Everyone talks about the offensive line and how good they are, and he's just as much of an offensive lineman as they are. Hopefully we get some opportunities to get him the ball more, but until then, he'll be doing well at whatever he is doing."
While Valentine, with one catch this season, may not get the ball thrown his way often, his focus is to be prepared for every situation he might encounter.
"One thing I love about being a tight end is just the ability to be versatile and be asked to do multiple things. I just want to do whatever the team needs from me, whatever the coaches ask of me and just be able to go out there and execute it to the best of my ability," the redshirt junior said. "It's one of those where I don't care how many times I get the ball. I just want to be the best player, all around, that I can be and do whatever the team needs of me."
His team-first attitude was evident last year and throughout the offseason, as he was voted to be a captain by his teammates.
"Dayton Valentine really stepped up in this last year and took on the leadership role. Whenever times were getting tough in workouts or whenever someone needed something, Dayton was there," Risner said. "It really made the difference and a lot of the guys on the team noticed it. If you step up and you're a leader and you lead by example at Kansas State, guys are going to notice."
Valentine said becoming a captain was never a goal he set out to achieve. Rather, he added, it was a result of his everyday approach of "trying to be the best player and best teammate that I can be."
"I just want to prove them right, make them proud and just be the best teammate, leader and person I can be," he continued. "It's a big honor and more responsibility to do the best I can."
An Honorable Mention All-Big 12 pick by the league's coaches last season, Valentine also never expected to be placed on the preseason watch list for the John Mackey Award, given to college football's most outstanding tight end. He's the first Wildcat tight end to land on the watch list since 2009, and he's just the third candidate for the award in school history.
When asked what the honor meant, Valentine said he wanted to treat it similarly to being named a captain.
"It's one of those things where it feels good to be on a preseason watch list, to know that people might be out there looking, wanting to watch you play, but it's also something that it is just a watch list and there's a lot of names on there," said Valentine, one of 55 players on the preseason watch list. "You want to prove all of those people right that put you on there."
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