Kansas State Athletics

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State senior linebacker Dakorey Johnson was honored for his performance in his first career start against Auburn as he was named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week, the conference office announced Monday.

Johnson is the second Wildcat in the last three weeks to pick up weekly conference accolades following quarterback Jake Waters, who earned offensive player of the week honors after the Iowa State game. Additionally, K-State has a league-best 26 player-of-the-week honors since 2011.

A product of Mesquite, Texas, Johnson registered a career-high six tackles Thursday night, including two tackles for loss, and an interception against the fifth-ranked Tigers. Johnson and the Wildcat defense held one of the nation’s top offenses to its lowest offensive output in head coach Gus Malzahn’s career. Auburn finished the game with an average of 2.8 yards per rush and totaled 128 yards on the ground. No Auburn team under Malzahn had ever been held below 200 rushing yards in a game, and the Tigers entered the matchup averaging more than 300.

A former community-college transfer, Johnson has 13 tackles this season, including 11 over the last two games, while he has two tackles for loss in two contests this season. His interception on Thursday was the second of his career as he also had one against Iowa State in 2013.

No. 25 Kansas State hosts UTEP Saturday at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.