MANHATTAN, Kan. – For the fifth time in the last two weeks, Kansas State senior defensive back Dante Barnett garnered national preseason accolades by being named to the watch list for the 2015 Walter Camp Player of the Year Award, the Walter Camp Football Foundation announced on Friday.

 

One of 50 candidates on this year’s watch list – including one of only 13 on the defensive side of the ball – Barnett is the sixth Wildcat in the last four years to be a candidate for the award. Former quarterback Collin Klein was a finalist in 2012, while linebacker Arthur Brown (2012), defensive back Nigel Malone (2012), running back John Hubert (2013) and wide receiver Tyler Lockett (2014) have also been candidates for the award.

 

Following a junior campaign in which he tallied 77 tackles, four tackles for loss, three interceptions and 11 total passes defended, Barnett earned Second Team All-Big 12 honors from the league’s coaches in addition to earning all-conference accolades from ESPN and Phil Steele. He was a member of the 2015 Preseason All-Big 12 team announced on Wednesday.

 

A 2015 team captain and the top active Wildcat with 176 career tackles, the Tulsa, Oklahoma, native earned Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week honors following last year’s Texas game when he totaled seven stops and four passes defended. He also had a season-high 12 tackles, including a career-best three tackles for loss against UTEP, while he had three interceptions in a four-game stretch against Oklahoma State, West Virginia and Kansas.