Kansas State’s Dante Barnett, Glenn Gronkowski, Cody Whitehair make preseason All-Big 12 team
Three Kansas State football players made the Big 12’s preseason all-conference team, the league announced Wednesday.
Senior safety Dante Barnett, senior left tackle Cody Whitehair and junior fullback Glenn Gronkowski represent the Wildcats on the squad, which was voted on by media that regularly cover the conference.
For Barnett, the honor adds to a long list of preseason honors. The Tulsa native is also on the watch list for the Bednarik and Thorpe awards, as well as the Nagurski Trophy. He is K-State’s top returning tackler, coming off a junior season in which he made 77 stops and three interceptions.
Whitehair was one of K-State’s top blockers as a junior and figures to lead the Wildcats up front this season.
Gronkowski has excelled both as a blocker and a down-field receiver. He has gained 293 yards on 10 catches. Last season, his longest touchdown grab was 62 yards.
TCU quarterback Trevone Boykin took home the league’s top preseason honor on offense, winning Offensive Player of the Year. Baylor defensive end Shawn Oakman was named Defensive Player of the Year. Oklahoma State running back Chris Carson was named Newcomer of the Year.
No Kansas players made the team.
To reach Kellis Robinett, send email to krobinett@kcstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @KellisRobinett.
Preseason All-Big 12
Media Selections
Offense
QB – Trevone Boykin, sr., TCU.
RB – Shock Linwood, jr., Baylor; Samaje Perine, so., Oklahoma.
FB – Glenn Gronkowski, jr., Kansas St.
WR – Corey Coleman, jr., Baylor; Sterling Shepard, sr., Oklahoma; Josh Doctson, sr., TCU.
TE – Tre’Von Armstead, jr., Baylor.
L – Spencer Drango, sr., Baylor; Cody Whitehair, sr., Kansas St.; Joey Hunt, sr., TCU; Halapoulivaati Vaitai, sr., TCU; Le’Raven Clark, sr., Texas Tech.
K – Josh Lambert, jr., West Virginia.
KR-PR – Alex Ross, jr., Oklahoma.
Defense
DL – Andrew Billings, jr., Baylor; Shawn Oakman, sr., Baylor; Emmanuel Ogbah, jr., Oklahoma St.; Davion Pierson, sr., TCU; Pete Robertson, sr., Texas Tech.
LB – Eric Striker, sr., Oklahoma; Ryan Simmons, sr., Oklahoma St.; Nick Kwiatkoski, sr., West Virginia.
DB – Orion Stewart, jr., Baylor; Dante Barnett, sr., Kansas St.; Zack Sanchez, jr., Oklahoma; Kevin Peterson, sr., Oklahoma St.; Duke Thomas, sr., Texas; Karl Joseph, sr., West Virginia.
P – Taylor Symmank, sr., Texas Tech.
This story was originally published July 16, 2015 at 11:58 AM with the headline "Kansas State’s Dante Barnett, Glenn Gronkowski, Cody Whitehair make preseason All-Big 12 team."