MANHATTAN, Kan. – With rookie mini camps taking place this weekend throughout the NFL, two former Kansas State players – defensive back/kick returner Morgan Burns and offensive lineman Boston Stiverson – have officially signed their rookie free agent deals with the Tennessee Titans and Dallas Cowboys, respectively, the organizations announced.

 

The duo joins Cody Whitehair, who was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft, and Glenn Gronkowski, who signed with the Buffalo Bills, as former Wildcats to join NFL teams in the past week.

 

A native of Wichita, Kansas, Burns was the top kickoff-return man in the country in 2015 as he earned multiple All-America accolades – including first-team honors from USA Today Sports, CBS Sports and FOX Sports – in addition to being named the 2015 Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Year. He broke the school record for single-season kickoff-return yards (1,138), while he tied the school and Big 12 records for kickoff-return touchdowns with four, including three in the final four regular-season games.

 

Burns, who set a league record for being named the Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week the final four weeks of the season, started 12 games at cornerback, recording 38 tackles and 11 passes defended. He also intercepted a pass at Kansas, a game in which he also forced a fumble on a punt and recovered another blocked punt in the end zone for a touchdown.

 

Stiverson, a product of Andover, Kansas, was a tough, physical offensive lineman who played in 38 career games, including 28 starts. He earned Honorable Mention All-Big 12 honors as both a junior and senior, including the 2014 season when he started all 13 games at left guard.

 

Other Kansas State players who have signed free agent deals will be released once announced by their respective teams.

 

The 2016 K-State football season opens Friday, September 2, as the Wildcats travel to Palo Alto, California, to take on Stanford in a nationally-televised matchup. Following an off week in which Bill Snyder Family Stadium will host the Wildcat Kickoff music festival featuring Zac Brown Band and Train, the Kansas State opens its home slate on September 17, against Florida Atlantic.

 

A limited number of single-game tickets for the 2016 season go on sale online only on June 20. All six home games are anticipated to sell out quickly and extend the Bill Snyder Family Stadium sellout streak to 33 games.

 

Tickets to Wildcat Kickoff are on sale for as low at $39. Visitwww.k-statesports.com for more details.

– k-statesports.com –

 

 

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RYAN LACKEY
Assistant Director | Athletics Communications

The Manhattan Indians edged the Washburn Rural Junior Blues to win the JCHS Golf Invitational on a near perfect sunny weather day at Rolling Meadows Golf Course.

Manhattan finished with a team score of 310 and Washburn Rural 311. Junction City shot a score of 400 to finish 15th out of 16 teams. “It was a struggle for some of our newer golfers, not unexpected but hoping for a little bit better score. ”

Hickert pointed to a pair of Junction City golfers that have done well all season, Logan Roether and Tyler Gromlovits, for their good play. “They led the way. Logan had a 9 over 81 and Tyler a 10 over 82. “

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – A person familiar with the situation tells The Associated Press that the Kansas City Chiefs and second-round draft pick Chris Jones have agreed to terms on a contract.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity Thursday because the team had not announced the deal.

The Chiefs traded away their first-round pick last weekend, so Jones was their first selection with the No. 37 overall pick. The 6-foot-6, 308-pound defensive tackle out of Mississippi State is the first of their eight picks to sign, though most should be in the fold by this weekend.

The Chiefs begin a three-day rookie minicamp on Saturday.

Jones should join a defensive line rotation that includes Dontari Poe, Jaye Howard and Allen Bailey but lost veteran Mike DeVito to retirement. Nick Williams and Rakeem Nunez-Roches are also on the roster.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Daniel Murphy finished a triple shy of the cycle, slumping slugger Bryce Harper also went deep and the Washington Nationals routed the floundering Kansas City Royals 13-2 on Wednesday.

Murphy and Clint Robinson drove in three runs apiece, and just about everyone else in a gray jersey did something at the plate to help the Nationals post one of their best offensive performances in years.

Stephen Strasburg merely had to show up to push his career-best start to 5-0. The big righty wound up allowing two runs on five hits and a walk while striking out seven in six tidy innings.

Kris Medlen (1-3) allowed nine runs, six of them earned, and six hits in two-plus innings for Kansas City. His home ERA rose to 20.65 in two starts at Kauffman Stadium this season.

Varsity Division: Girls: Savanna Cavanaugh – 5th High Jump 4’ 4”, 6th Javelin 82’ 10” Geneva Fink – 6th Discus 92’ 4” Brianna Loy – 5th 200M 29.95 Dejanay Harris – 6th 400M 1:10.22 Lindsey Anderson – 1st 800M 2:32.88, 2nd 1600M 5:51.86 Amber Hahn – 1st 3200M 13:01.35 4×400 (Lindsey Anderson, Amber Hahn, Brianna Loy, Dejanay Harris) 4th 4:37.89 Team Placing – 5th Boys: Brennan Harris – 1st High Jump 5’ 10” Brandon Colston – 3rd High Jump 5’ 6”, 4th 800M 2:14.68 Aaron Modrow – 2nd 1600M 4:54.76 Jeremy Rodgers – 4th 1600M 5:11.32, 3rd 3200M 11:11.73 Cody Fischer – 4th High Jump 5’ 6”, 6th 300M Hurdles 46.05 Shaun Blocker – 2nd 200M 53.62 Robert Litzinger – 2nd Long Jump 19’ 10.75”, 3rd 400M 53.98 Chris Hansen – 3rd Long Jump 18’ 10” Robert Steck – 4th Triple Jump  39’ 10”, 2nd Javelin 166’ 8”, 4th 300M Hurdles 45.52 Tanner Kettenbach – 2nd Shot Put 42’ 10” Kevin Leister – 2nd 100M 11.22, 3rd 200M 24.33 Tyler Tope – 4th Discus 124’ 9” 4×100 (Chris Hansen, Kevin Leister, Cody Fischer, Shaun Blocker) 4th 46.06 4×400 (Robert Litzinger, Brandon Colston, Malik Watkins, Shaun Blocker) 2nd 3:38.56 4×800 (Brandon Colston, Aaron Modrow, Jeremy Rodgers, Tanner Hettenbach) 3rd 9:05.95 Team Placing – 2nd JV Division Girls: Brianna Loy – 3rd High Jump 4’ 2” Savanna Cavanaugh – 4th Triple Jump 27’ 8.5” Mazee Casto – 200M 30.39, 3rd 100M 14.48 Jaimee Bartlett – 6th 400M 1:18.34, 5th 800M 3:08 Boys: Monroe Morgan – 1st High Jump 5’ 4”, 6th 400M 1:00 James Butler – 4th 1600M 5:43.68 Malik Watkins – 2nd High Jump 5’ 2”, 1st 300M Hurdles 48.53 Brennan Harris – 2nd 300M Hurdles 48.85 Kevin Leister – 3rd High Jump 5’ 2” Tye Paluso – 5th Pole Vault 9’ 6” Dalton Harvey – 5th Long Jump 15’ 11”, 6th Discus 84’ 5” Mitchell Tiller – 5th Javelin 111’ 9” AJ Johnson – 6th Shot Put 32’ 5” Taylor George – 1st 200M 24.79 4×100 (Austin Carter, Monroe Morgan, Tye Paluso, Dalton Harvey) 2nd 49.27 4×400 (Taylor George, Michael Marshall, Monroe Morgan, Kevin Dickenson) 2nd 4:08.67 Comments: Great night of track and field.  The boys were just short (1.5 points) from winning the meet.  We saw so many improvements.  This is exactly what we want to see as we get ready for the league meet next week. Coach Michelle Elliott