Kansas State football's Felix Anudike-Uzomah named Big 12 defensive player of the year
Kansas State defensive end Felix Anudike-Uzomah lived up to his preseason billing on Wednesday when he was named Big 12 defensive lineman of the year in a vote by the league's coaches.
Anudike-Uzomah, the only unanimous all-conference first-team selection on defense, also was named defensive lineman of the year. He was one of four K-State first-team selections, along with offensive lineman of the year Cooper Beebe, fullback Ben Sinnott — named at fullback — and cornerback Julius Brents.
The Wildcats also had five second-team picks, with running back Deuce Vaughn, wide receiver Malik Knowles and kick returner Phillip Brooks on offense, and safety Kobe Savage and punter Ty Zentner on defense. K-State honorable mention selections were cornerback Ekow Boye-Doe, center Hayden Gillum, nose guard Eli Huggins, offensive tackle KT Leveston, quarterback Adrian Martinez and linebackers Daniel Green and Austin Moore.
Anudike-Uzomah, a 6-foot-4, 255-pound junior from Kansas City, Missouri, leads K-State with 7.5 sacks and 10 tackles for loss despite being double-teamed for most of the season. Of his 39 tackles, 25.6% have been for lost yardage.
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Anudike-Uzomah, whose 19.5 career sacks rank 10th in K-State history, is the first two-time defensive lineman of the year since inception of the award in 2006. He is the fifth Wildcat to win defensive player of the year and the first since defensive end Jordan Willis in 2016. The others are linebacker Arthur Brown (2012), cornerback Terence Newman (2002) and linebacker Mark Simoneau (1999).
Beebe, a 6-4, 322-pound junior from Kansas City, Kansas, is the third K-State player to win offensive lineman of the year, joining Dalton Risner (2018) and B.J. Finney (2014). He was a first-team selection playing left tackle last year and switched to left guard this season.
Beebe has not allowed a sack among his 358 pass-blocking snaps this season and is on a 27-game streak without surrendering a sack going back to his freshman season in 2020.
Sinnott, a former walk-on from Waterloo, Iowa, has become one of quarterback Will Howard's favorite targets in recent weeks with 15 catches for 254 yards in the past five games. His 26 receptions for 367 yards rank fifth on the team and his three touchdown grabs are tied for third.
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Brents, a senior from Indianapolis who transferred to K-State last year from Iowa, is tied for the team lead in interceptions and tied for fifth in the league with three. He also has 40 tackles, 3.5 for loss, and six passes defended.
Vaughn, a junior from Round Rock, Texas, who has rushed for 1,295 yards and seven touchdowns, is a second-team pick for the second straight year. He also ranks second on the team in receiving with 40 catches for 348 yards and three scores.
Knowles, a senior, leads the Wildcats in receiving with 46 catches for 679 yards and two touchdowns. Brooks, also a senior, is averaging 13.9 yards on 11 punt returns, with one score.
On defense, Savage ranks third on the team in tackles with 58 and is tied for first with three interceptions in his first season as a Wildcat after transferring from Tyler (Texas) Junior College. He suffered a season-ending injury in K-State's Nov. 12 victory at Baylor.
Zentner, who also kicks off for K-State and also is perfect on eight field goal attempts, has a punting average of 44.6 yards.
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TCU dominates major Big 12 awards
Other major award winners selected by the coaches included TCU's Sonny Dykes as coach of the year and TCU quarterback Max Duggan as offensive player of the year. Newcomers of the year were Oklahoma quarterback Dillon Gabriel on offense and TCU linebacker Johnny Hodges on defense.
The freshmen of the year are Baylor running back Richard Reese on offense and Oklahoma State safety Kendal Daniels on defense. TCU return man Derius Davis is the special teams player of the year.
Arne Green is based in Salina and covers Kansas State University sports for the Gannett network. He can be reached at agreen@gannett.com or on Twitter at @arnegreen.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Felix Anudike-Uzomah wins Big 12 defensive player of the year
