SE: At Special Teams U, Wildcats Step Up Beyond the Box Score
Oct 26, 2020 | Football, Sports Extra
By: Austin Siegel
They've only been handing out hammers for two seasons.
Sure, K-State Football has played Kansas 118 times, so the postgame tradition is still a new one.
But ever since Chris Klieman arrived in Manhattan, the head coach has invited key contributors in a victory to hand out hammers to teammates who define the values of the program.
As the Wildcats gathered around the Governor's Cup on Saturday afternoon – staying in Manhattan for the 12th-straight year – K-State still needed to hand out some hardware.
You could check the box score from Saturday's game to see who led the Wildcats against Kansas, but that wouldn't tell the whole story of this Sunflower Showdown. Not even close.
"First guy I want to bring up here, I know he's got a ton of legacy with this program," Klieman said. "Mason Barta."
Barta started at fullback for the Wildcats against Kansas, on the same field where his dad, Brooks, helped K-State beat the Jayhawks for the first time in half a decade back in 1991.
On Saturday, Barta hauled in a reception and delivered the lead block on Harry Trotter's rushing touchdown in the third quarter. Barta picked up a hammer with the words "commitment" and handed it to Tyler Burns.
"He's my best friend," Barta said, before delivering the hammer to a player who's been everywhere the Wildcats have needed him in 2020.
Burns is listed on the roster as a running back, but the Wichita native did most of his work on special teams against Kansas.
When he wasn't the first guy downfield on punt coverage, Burns was playing heads up football and recovered a muffed punt for the Wildcats in the second quarter.
It's easy to forget that until his fumble recovery, K-State had been mostly quiet on offense.
Burns handed the Wildcats a short field to work with and set up Will Howard for a 16-yard touchdown pass to Sammy Wheeler that gave the offense some much needed juice.
There were also plenty of contributions from the sidelines against the Jayhawks, with Burns handing out a hammer to special teams quality control coach Stanton Weber.
For anyone who coaches special teams at K-State, Saturday was basically Queen at Live Aid.
And not just because the Pride of Wildcat Land played Bohemian Rhapsody at halftime.
The Wildcats came up with a pair of punt return touchdowns, recovered a fumble and saw Phillip Brooks become the nation's leader in punt return yards.
"I don't know if anyone is more obsessive about being the best he can be, each and every day," Burns said. "This goes to Stanton Weber."
A former Wildcat receiver who captained the special teams unit in 2017, Weber was also a three-time First Team Academic All-Big 12 member as a player.
He joined the K-State staff as a graduate assistant, rising up the coaching ranks in Manhattan.
Against the Jayhawks, Weber saw his group turn in one of the most dominant performances in the history of "Special Teams U."
Brooks came up with 189 punt return yards in the win over Kansas. His individual numbers would make Brooks the nation's leader in punt return yards for the entire season, as a team.
The sophomore, all by himself, now leads every other team in the nation in punt return yards.
"It's another aspect of the game. There's offense, defense and special teams. I feel like we take pride in special teams," Brooks said. "It's Special Teams U and with the history of great returners, I feel like I needed to contribute."
Kansas State has the best special teams in the country this season and it's not especially close.
At the halfway point of the 2020 season, the Wildcats are:
K-State also hasn't had a field goal blocked and are among the nation's top 20 teams in punt return defense.
Plenty of those numbers are because of a guy like Brooks stepping up against the Jayhawks, but the Wildcats didn't stop there in the postgame locker room.
Brock Monty, who delivered a hammer to K-State Recruiting Coordinator and Kansas native Taylor Braet, came up with a huge block on the first punt return touchdown of the game.
After the game, Klieman singled out Monty, who officially recorded just one tackle against the Jayhawks.
Like so many Wildcats on Saturday, that doesn't even begin to tell the story.
"It starts with Brock Monty. He's a captain of our team and kind of runs all our special teams. And he sets the tempo," Klieman said. "I told the guys in the locker room, that for a kid that's not a starter, that's a captain. He's one of the best leaders I've ever been around."
They've only been handing out hammers for two seasons.
Sure, K-State Football has played Kansas 118 times, so the postgame tradition is still a new one.
But ever since Chris Klieman arrived in Manhattan, the head coach has invited key contributors in a victory to hand out hammers to teammates who define the values of the program.
As the Wildcats gathered around the Governor's Cup on Saturday afternoon – staying in Manhattan for the 12th-straight year – K-State still needed to hand out some hardware.
Commitment
— K-State Football (@KStateFB) October 24, 2020
Discipline
Selfless
Mamba Mentality
Toughness
Clutch#KStateFB ⚒ pic.twitter.com/w4LHBoefDK
You could check the box score from Saturday's game to see who led the Wildcats against Kansas, but that wouldn't tell the whole story of this Sunflower Showdown. Not even close.
"First guy I want to bring up here, I know he's got a ton of legacy with this program," Klieman said. "Mason Barta."
Barta started at fullback for the Wildcats against Kansas, on the same field where his dad, Brooks, helped K-State beat the Jayhawks for the first time in half a decade back in 1991.
On Saturday, Barta hauled in a reception and delivered the lead block on Harry Trotter's rushing touchdown in the third quarter. Barta picked up a hammer with the words "commitment" and handed it to Tyler Burns.
"He's my best friend," Barta said, before delivering the hammer to a player who's been everywhere the Wildcats have needed him in 2020.
Burns is listed on the roster as a running back, but the Wichita native did most of his work on special teams against Kansas.
When he wasn't the first guy downfield on punt coverage, Burns was playing heads up football and recovered a muffed punt for the Wildcats in the second quarter.
It's easy to forget that until his fumble recovery, K-State had been mostly quiet on offense.
Burns handed the Wildcats a short field to work with and set up Will Howard for a 16-yard touchdown pass to Sammy Wheeler that gave the offense some much needed juice.
There were also plenty of contributions from the sidelines against the Jayhawks, with Burns handing out a hammer to special teams quality control coach Stanton Weber.
For anyone who coaches special teams at K-State, Saturday was basically Queen at Live Aid.
And not just because the Pride of Wildcat Land played Bohemian Rhapsody at halftime.
The Wildcats came up with a pair of punt return touchdowns, recovered a fumble and saw Phillip Brooks become the nation's leader in punt return yards.
"I don't know if anyone is more obsessive about being the best he can be, each and every day," Burns said. "This goes to Stanton Weber."
A former Wildcat receiver who captained the special teams unit in 2017, Weber was also a three-time First Team Academic All-Big 12 member as a player.
He joined the K-State staff as a graduate assistant, rising up the coaching ranks in Manhattan.
Against the Jayhawks, Weber saw his group turn in one of the most dominant performances in the history of "Special Teams U."
Brooks came up with 189 punt return yards in the win over Kansas. His individual numbers would make Brooks the nation's leader in punt return yards for the entire season, as a team.
The sophomore, all by himself, now leads every other team in the nation in punt return yards.
"It's another aspect of the game. There's offense, defense and special teams. I feel like we take pride in special teams," Brooks said. "It's Special Teams U and with the history of great returners, I feel like I needed to contribute."
Kansas State has the best special teams in the country this season and it's not especially close.
At the halfway point of the 2020 season, the Wildcats are:
- 1st in the country in blocked punts
- 1st in the country in punt return yards
- 1st in the country in punt return touchdowns
- 2nd in the country in blocked kicks
K-State also hasn't had a field goal blocked and are among the nation's top 20 teams in punt return defense.
Plenty of those numbers are because of a guy like Brooks stepping up against the Jayhawks, but the Wildcats didn't stop there in the postgame locker room.
Brock Monty, who delivered a hammer to K-State Recruiting Coordinator and Kansas native Taylor Braet, came up with a huge block on the first punt return touchdown of the game.
File that block from @BrockMonty10 under:
— Austin Siegel (@_austinsiegel) October 24, 2020
📁Kansas kids making plays https://t.co/RRuqKZWDye
After the game, Klieman singled out Monty, who officially recorded just one tackle against the Jayhawks.
Like so many Wildcats on Saturday, that doesn't even begin to tell the story.
"It starts with Brock Monty. He's a captain of our team and kind of runs all our special teams. And he sets the tempo," Klieman said. "I told the guys in the locker room, that for a kid that's not a starter, that's a captain. He's one of the best leaders I've ever been around."
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