K-State’s Risner Named to Pair of Preseason All-America Teams

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State senior offensive tackle Dalton Risner was named to two All-America teams on Wednesday as he picked up first-team honors from ESPN and USA Today.

The honors for Risner are in addition to being named a First Team Preseason All-American by Athlon, and a second-team honoree by Street & Smith’s and CBSSports.com earlier this summer. Additionally, Sports Illustrated listed Risner as one of the Top 100 College Football Players of 2018, checking in at No. 50.

Risner, a product of Wiggins, Colorado, was one of three Big 12 players on ESPN’s list, joining West Virginia’s Will Grier (QB) and David Sills V (WR). Risner and Sills were the only Big 12 representatives on USA Today’s first team.

A 38-game starter, Risner anchored the right tackle spot in all 12 regular-season games last season, earning First Team All-America accolades from Pro Football Focus (PFF) and second-team honors from CBSSports.com. He graded out at a 90.3 mark during the regular season according to PFF, including a 98.9 mark on pass blocking efficiency to tie for the fourth highest among FBS tackles. Risner led the Wildcats to a tie for third place in school history in rushing yards per carry (4.98), while they finished seventh in program history with 2,584 total rushing yards.

Just the fifth three-time team captain in program history, Risner is on the watch list for the 2018 Outland Trophy and Wuerffel Trophy, while he is a candidate for the AFCA Good Works Team.

Receiving votes in both the preseason Amway Coaches’ and Associated Press polls, Kansas State opens the 2018 season next Saturday with a 6:10 p.m., contest against South Dakota inside Bill Snyder Family Stadium. The 10th-annual K-State Family Reunion game will be broadcast on ESPN3.

The Wildcats then host 18th-ranked Mississippi State on September 8 at 11 a.m., in a game televised by ESPN before closing out non-conference play at home against UTSA on September 15, at 3 p.m., on FSN.