The K-State Ring of Honor honors an elite group of Wildcat players who have achieved success on and off the field, have a high quality of character, have represented K-State well, have achieved All-American status or have performed at a “program-transformational level that warrants consideration” and are five-years removed from K-State, according to K-State Sports.
K-State will be adding four more Wildcat greats to the ring including Clarence Scott, Michael Bishop, Jordy Nelson and Darren Sproles on Sept. 5 at K-State football’s season opener against South Dakota State.
Continuing our series on the 2015 Ring of Honor Inductees, we move to one of the best (or, according to who you talk to, the best) quarterback in K-State history.
Michael Bishop’s impact on K-State football is immeasurable but can be shown in the words of the man who brought him to Manhattan.
“I wish we would’ve had him for a longer period of time,” K-State head coach Bill Snyder said of Bishop in a 2012 Powercat Illustrated article by D. Scott Fritchen.
What did he do at K-State?:
Coming to Manhattan from Blinn Junior College in Brenham, Texas, Bishop took the starting quarterback reigns in the 1997 season and went on to become one of the winningest quarterbacks in K-State history; he went 22-3 throughout his entire two-year career and 15-1 in Big 12 play.
Bishop holds the K-State record for pass efficiency with a 159.6 rating and total offensive yards gained in a season with 3,592 yards. He also holds the record for the longest pass in K-State history, a 97 yard bomb to Aaron Lockett against Louisiana-Monroe in the 1998 Season.
Bishop was also a Heisman Trophy runner-up in the 1998 season, as well as the winner of the 1998 Davey O’Brien Award, given to the top quarterback in the country every season.
How was his pro career?:
Bishop was drafted in the seventh round of the NFL Draft by the New England Patriots. After two seasons of that, Bishop had a short stint with the Green Bay Packers before relegating himself to the ranks of the Arena Football League and the Canadian Football League. Bishop hung around in both of those until 2011 but never really found a groove.
Where is he from?:
Bishop was born May 15, 1976 in Galveston, Texas.
He started at quarterback during his last two years at Willis High School where he was an all-city and all-state selection.
After high school, he went to Blinn College where he went 24-0 in his two years and won two NJCAA National Championships.
What people who saw him in action say?:
Tim Bisel, sports editor for the Topeka Capital-Journal, recounted his recollections of Bishop in his prime at K-State.
“History and the Heisman Trophy tell us Ricky Williams was the best player in college football during the 1998 season,” Bisel said. “They lie. No player dominated the ’98 season like Kansas State’s Michael Bishop.”
“There may be no better example of Bishop’s talent than the performance he authored against Nebraska that year, a performance I was privileged to witness. How many players can lose three fumbles and throw an interception against the nation’s 11th-ranked team – with ESPN’s GameDay crew on hand, no less — and widely be hailed as a hero? Bishop was, thanks to a spellbinding 446-yard showing that left your mouth agape almost every time he touched the ball. Michael Bishop is the most electric player ever to wear a Powercat helmet. And, no, I haven’t forgotten Darren Sproles.”
