SE: K-State Looks to Send 16-Man Senior Class Out with Home Win
Nov 16, 2018 | Football, Sports Extra
By Corbin McGuire
Shortly after K-State celebrated its 10th-straight win over Kansas, Dalton Risner said offensive coordinator Andre Coleman found him in the locker room and reminded him what's next: Senior Day.
Immediately, it hit K-State's four-year starter on the offensive line.
He and 15 other Wildcats will play their last game in Bill Snyder Family Stadium against Texas Tech on Saturday at 2:30 p.m., on ESPNU. Just thinking about it, minutes after a down-to-the-wire win against the Jayhawks, was hard for Risner.
"I'm trying not to get emotional. I'm trying not to think about it. This place has given me every opportunity in the world, and I'm so blessed and thankful," he said. "The fact that I have one more game left to play in this stadium, I don't even want to think about it… I hope I don't let the emotions get the best of me. I have a game to play."
Risner will be joined in the pre-game senior recognition by Kendall Adams, Abdul Beecham, Jeremy Collier, Dalton Harman, Matt Jones, Osvelt Joseph, Colby Moore, Zach Reuter, Duke Shelley, Justin Silmon, Sam Sizelove, Logan Stoddard, David Tullis, Eli Walker and Dalvin Warmack.
The 16-man group represents a lot of positives, K-State head coach Bill Snyder said on Tuesday.
Adams, Joseph, Moore, Risner and Warmack enter their Senior Day having already graduated. Seven others are projected to get their degrees in December, while the majority of the rest will in the spring.
Some have been gameday contributors for many years, like Risner. Adams, a three-year starter at safety, Shelley, a four-year starter at corner, and Moore, a four-year mainstay on special teams, belong to that group as well. Others have seen very little playing time yet continued to be dedicated to the program. Eight of the seniors have been at K-State for five years, three are in their fourth year, while five started at a community college. But they all finished as Wildcats.
"I have great appreciation for all young people in our program, and for those who sustain their period of time here, obviously an even greater appreciation," Snyder said. "There's not an awful lot of starters in that group but they are young guys who have been very persistent, guys who have a fortitude and a commitment not just to the program but to their teammates, which I greatly appreciate, and their teammates care a lot about them as well. A lot of good young people."
Recently, the Wildcats have made it a tradition to send their seniors out with a win. K-State has won six of its last seven Senior Day games, including four in a row. This year's K-State team (4-6, 2-5) looks to do the same on Saturday to end the year with three-straight home wins and keep its bowl hopes alive going into next week's season finale at Iowa State.
To do so, Snyder said the Wildcats must be successful in a few key areas of the game. These included ball control, limiting Texas Tech's big plays and the Wildcats creating some substantial plays of their own on offense.
"We've got to make sure we do not give up those extended drives, that we can get a few three-and-outs and, offensively, we hang on to the football a little bit longer, eat up the clock and get a few of those big plays," Snyder said. "But a lot of things go into it."
What he is not worried about is his team's hunger level to end the home schedule on a positive note and send this senior class out the right way.
"I don't think there's a game they don't diligently want to win," he said. "I have a high degree of confidence that that's their feeling."
Shortly after K-State celebrated its 10th-straight win over Kansas, Dalton Risner said offensive coordinator Andre Coleman found him in the locker room and reminded him what's next: Senior Day.
Immediately, it hit K-State's four-year starter on the offensive line.
He and 15 other Wildcats will play their last game in Bill Snyder Family Stadium against Texas Tech on Saturday at 2:30 p.m., on ESPNU. Just thinking about it, minutes after a down-to-the-wire win against the Jayhawks, was hard for Risner.
"I'm trying not to get emotional. I'm trying not to think about it. This place has given me every opportunity in the world, and I'm so blessed and thankful," he said. "The fact that I have one more game left to play in this stadium, I don't even want to think about it… I hope I don't let the emotions get the best of me. I have a game to play."
Risner will be joined in the pre-game senior recognition by Kendall Adams, Abdul Beecham, Jeremy Collier, Dalton Harman, Matt Jones, Osvelt Joseph, Colby Moore, Zach Reuter, Duke Shelley, Justin Silmon, Sam Sizelove, Logan Stoddard, David Tullis, Eli Walker and Dalvin Warmack.
The 16-man group represents a lot of positives, K-State head coach Bill Snyder said on Tuesday.
Adams, Joseph, Moore, Risner and Warmack enter their Senior Day having already graduated. Seven others are projected to get their degrees in December, while the majority of the rest will in the spring.
Some have been gameday contributors for many years, like Risner. Adams, a three-year starter at safety, Shelley, a four-year starter at corner, and Moore, a four-year mainstay on special teams, belong to that group as well. Others have seen very little playing time yet continued to be dedicated to the program. Eight of the seniors have been at K-State for five years, three are in their fourth year, while five started at a community college. But they all finished as Wildcats.
"I have great appreciation for all young people in our program, and for those who sustain their period of time here, obviously an even greater appreciation," Snyder said. "There's not an awful lot of starters in that group but they are young guys who have been very persistent, guys who have a fortitude and a commitment not just to the program but to their teammates, which I greatly appreciate, and their teammates care a lot about them as well. A lot of good young people."
Recently, the Wildcats have made it a tradition to send their seniors out with a win. K-State has won six of its last seven Senior Day games, including four in a row. This year's K-State team (4-6, 2-5) looks to do the same on Saturday to end the year with three-straight home wins and keep its bowl hopes alive going into next week's season finale at Iowa State.
To do so, Snyder said the Wildcats must be successful in a few key areas of the game. These included ball control, limiting Texas Tech's big plays and the Wildcats creating some substantial plays of their own on offense.
"We've got to make sure we do not give up those extended drives, that we can get a few three-and-outs and, offensively, we hang on to the football a little bit longer, eat up the clock and get a few of those big plays," Snyder said. "But a lot of things go into it."
What he is not worried about is his team's hunger level to end the home schedule on a positive note and send this senior class out the right way.
"I don't think there's a game they don't diligently want to win," he said. "I have a high degree of confidence that that's their feeling."
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