MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State kick returner Joshua Youngblood received his second honor from the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) and sixth overall All-America accolade as he was named a Freshman All-American by the organization on Monday.
Youngblood, who was a Second Team All-American by the FWAA, was previously named to ESPN’s lone All-America team and was a Second Team All-American by CBS Sports, while he was a Freshman All-American by The Athletic and a True Freshman All-American by 247Sports.
The freshman was part of an overall kickoff-return unit that led the nation in both average (29.50) touchdowns (4). The unit’s average tied for the 14th best mark in NCAA history and set a new school and Big 12 record.
A product of Tampa, Florida, who was named the Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Year, Youngblood led the country with three kickoff-return touchdowns during the regular season. His three scores rank third in school history for a season and fourth in a career, while he ranks third in Big 12 history for a season and already tied for seventh in a career.
Youngblood held a Big 12-leading 35.9-yard kickoff-return average, which would rank first in the nation and broke both the school and conference records if he had two more attempts to meet the NCAA required minimum.