Kansas State football team may have found hidden gem in Horton’s Trey Dishon

When Trey Dishon says he can do it all on the football field, he isn’t exaggerating by much.

Dishon, a senior at Horton (Kan.) High School and a Kansas State commitment, lined up everywhere during his high school career, playing everything from defensive tackle and defensive end to fullback and tight end. He was even the team’s kicker.

“I try to do as much as possible with my athletic ability,” Dishon said. “Coaches say I am a big man that can move. You see that if you watch me on film. On my highlight video, I have got a pick six on there; I’m hurdling a defensive back when I catch a ball; I’m blocking punts. I’m not just firing out on the defensive line every time. I am showing that I can catch the ball on offense, that I can kick off and that I can get sacks. I can jump; I can move; I can run. That is what you have to do if you want to make it from a small town.”

Dishon’s on-field responsibilities will be much more specific — just defensive tackle — when the two-star prospect arrives at K-State for summer workouts, but he plans on using the same mentality throughout his college career. Whatever he can do to help his team, he will do.

If that mantra sounds familiar, it should. Every year, K-State coach Bill Snyder signs a recruiting class that is low on touted prospects and poorly rated by recruiting experts. Yet, as those unknown recruits age and develop within the K-State football family, they become productive Big 12 players.

Last season, K-State was led by seniors such as Ryan Mueller, B.J. Finney, Jonathan Truman, Jake Waters and Tyler Lockett. Three arrived at K-State as walk-ons, one didn’t receive a single scholarship above the junior-college level in high school and the other was overlooked by the football teams within his home state.

Perhaps Dishon, who was committed to Northwest Missouri State and hadn’t received any Division I interest before K-State got involved earlier this month, can follow in their footsteps.

“That is definitely what I want to do,” Dishon said. “The ceiling is high. I’m excited about it. But you have got to keep the mindset that nothing is going to be easy. It is definitely going to be a change going from a town of 1,700 people to K-State and the best players in nation. Horton is so small that we don’t even have a McDonald’s. When we eat out, we go to the station. It’s going to be a big change, but that’s what motivates me.”

It isn’t hard to realize how much playing at K-State means to Horton. You can sense excitement in his voice. Growing up north of Topeka, he has long been a fan of K-State football and KU basketball. He says he likes every successful team in the Sunflower State. Playing college football close to home has long been a goal.

But it didn’t seem like that was going to happen until K-State recruiting coordinator Taylor Braet surprisingly began following Dishon on Twitter two weeks ago. Out of curiosity, Dishon followed him back and they struck up a conversation through direct messages. Braet told Dishon he had seen his highlights on YouTube and that K-State assistants Mo Latimore and Mike Cox wanted to drive to Horton and meet him.

They wanted to confirm he could bench 365 pounds, squat 550 pounds and dunk a basketball like his high school coaches claimed he could.

Next thing Dishon knew, they were offering a scholarship and inviting him to campus for an official visit.

Then Dishon met Snyder and committed. He saw a bright future at K-State.

“The whole process was amazing and eye-opening,” Dishon said. “I love to play for my state, but it’s not just that. Bill Snyder is one the best coaches around. Getting a full-ride scholarship to play football at Kansas State is all I wanted growing up. You can’t turn that down.”

This story was originally published February 3, 2015 at 10:08 AM with the headline "Kansas State football team may have found hidden gem in Horton’s Trey Dishon."