K-State football senior safety Dante Barnett has earned the program’s first preseason honor Friday, being named to the Lott IMPACT Trophy watch list, the award’s foundation announced.
Barnett is the fourth Wildcat to be honored as a candidate for the award (Arthur Brown, 2012; Ty Zimmerman, 2013; Ryan Mueller, 2014) and one of seven Big 12 representatives named to the shortlist Friday.
The trophy is awarded annually to a player who “demonstrate(s) excellence in the field of athletics and recognizes college football’s Defensive Player of the Year who best exemplifies the IMPACT acronym: Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community and Tenacity,” according to the Lott IMPACT Trophy website.
Barnett is the most experienced returning K-State player on the defense, having started every game over the past two seasons and 28 total in his career in Manhattan. He garnered Second Team All-Big 12 and All-Big 12 honors by Big 12 coaches and ESPN, respectively, in 2014.
Off the field, the senior safety is involved in several programs, including Cats in the Classroom, Senior Cats and Adopt-a-Family. Barnett is also a member of Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll.
Finalists for the award will be announced at a later date, and the Lott IMPACT Trophy award winner is scheduled to be announced on Dec. 14th at the Pacific Club in Newport Beach, California.
