Three Wildcats Earn Nod on Preseason All-Big 12 Team
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Three Kansas State football players – fullback Nick Lenners, defensive end Wyatt Hubert and kick returner Joshua Youngblood – have been named to the 2020 Preseason All-Big 12 team as chosen by media representatives who cover the league, the conference office announced Thursday.
It is the first honor for all three players, each of whom were named First Team All-Big 12 performers by the league’s coaches following the 2019 season. The three Wildcats on the list are tied for the fourth most in the league and are the most by K-State since 2017.
Lenners played in 13 games a year ago with four starts, tallying 13 catches for 163 yards and a touchdown. It was the most catches by a Wildcat fullback or tight end since 2014 and the most yards among those positions since 2015. A native of Lincoln, Nebraska, Lenners was also a force in the running attack, helping block for a unit that ranked fourth in the Big 12 with 178.0 rushing yards per game and third in the league with 29 rushing touchdowns.
Hubert, who also received votes for the conference’s defensive player and defensive lineman of the year awards in 2019, tallied 33 tackles, 12.5 tackles for loss and 7.0 sacks in 12 games a year ago. He has 11.5 career sacks to tie for the second most ever by a Wildcat prior to his junior campaign. Hubert, a product of Topeka, Kansas, enters the 2020 season ranked 12th nationally among active players in career sacks per game (0.50) and 13th in TFLs per game (0.91).
The 2019 Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Year, Youngblood was an All-American as a kick returner by multiple outlets after he returned a nation-leading three kickoffs for touchdowns. The first true freshman in Big 12 history to be named the league’s player of the year on offense, defense or special teams, Youngblood averaged 35.9 yards per kickoff return, a mark that would have led the nation and set the school record if he had two more attempts to meet the NCAA required minimum. A native of Tampa, Florida, Youngblood’s three kickoff returns – including a 100-yarder at Texas Tech – ranks third in Big 12 history and fourth in K-State history for a season.
