MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State senior offensive lineman Easton Kilty and senior defensive end Brendan Mott were honored for their work in the classroom on Tuesday as the duo was named to the 2024 Academic All-America football team as selected by the College Sports Communicators.
Kilty was named to the first team and Mott was named to the second team, and both players were honored for the first time in their careers. It is the seventh time in school history that the Wildcats had two players earn Academic All-America status in the same season, including the second-straight year after Cooper Beebe and Ben Sinnott were named to the first team in 2023.
A transfer from North Dakota, Kilty holds a 4.00 GPA in communication studies. He was an All-Big 12 Second Team honoree by the league’s coaches in addition to picking up votes for the Big 12 Offensive Lineman of the Year award. The Stratford, Wisconsin, native started all 13 games at left tackle, helping lead an offensive line unit that aided the Wildcats in setting school records in rushing yards per carry (6.08) and offensive yards per play (6.57) as they finished second and 13th nationally in those two categories, respectively. Protecting the quarterback’s blind side, Kilty helped K-State surrender only 13 sacks on the season – its fewest since 2000 – while the Wildcats’ 1.00 sacks allowed per game average ranked 10th in the nation.
Mott, who hails from Iowa City, Iowa, holds a 3.63 GPA in finance and is a two-time Academic All-District performer. A career 36-game starter – including all 13 games in 2024 – Mott was named the 2024 Big 12 Defensive Lineman of the Year, an All-Big 12 First Team honoree and earned votes for the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year award after leading the conference with 8.5 sacks to go along with 49 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss, an interception and a fumble recovery. He tallied a season-high 2.5 sacks at Colorado – the most in the Big 12 during the 2024 season – as he helped the Wildcats earn a 31-28 comeback win over the Buffaloes. Mott recorded his first-career interception against Cincinnati – the first Wildcat defensive lineman with a pick since 2021 and the first in Big 12 play since 2011 – while he recovered a fumble in the fourth quarter against Kansas, which led to the game-winning field goal.
– k-statesports.com –
RYAN LACKEY