MANHATTAN — A pair of Wildcats saw their names on preseason watch lists on Tuesday, as Kansas State defensive end Felix Anudike-Uzomah was one of 85 players named to the Bronko Nagurski Trophy watch list, while offensive lineman Cooper Beebe was named one of 89 players on the Outland Trophy watch list, the Football Writers Association of America announced.
It is the first time either player has been named candidates for those respective awards. The Nagurski Trophy is presented to the nation’s most outstanding defensive player by the Charlotte Touchdown Club. Anudike-Uzomah was one of 10 Big 12 defenders on the list, and his inclusion on the initial list in 2022 marks the 11th time in the last 12 years a Wildcat has been up for the award. Most recently, defensive end Wyatt Hubert was a preseason candidate in both 2019 and 2020.
Beebe is also one of 10 players from the Big 12 on the watch list for the Outland Trophy, which goes to the nation’s most outstanding interior lineman on either side of the ball. He is the first Wildcat in the running for the award since Dalton Risner was a candidate in 2018.
A junior from Kansas City, Missouri, Anudike-Uzomah was one of the top defensive players in the nation in 2021 as he earned All-America honors from Phil Steele, and he was a First Team All-Big 12 performer by both the league’s coaches and Associated Press in addition being named the Big 12 Defensive Lineman of the Year by the coaches. He tied for the national lead in forced fumbles per game (0.46), while he ranked 11th nationally in sacks. His 11.0 total sacks tied for fifth in school history, which included a single-game record tying 4.0 sacks against TCU en route to Walter Camp National Defensive Player of the Week, Bednarik Award Player of the Week, Bronko Nagurski Trophy Player of the Week and Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week honors.