Kansas State Athletics
MANHATTAN, Kan. – For the first time in school history, Kansas State swept the Big 12 weekly honors as wide receiver Deante Burton (offense), linebacker Charmeachealle Moore (defense) and kick returner Morgan Burns (special teams) were each named the Big 12 Player of the Week for their efforts in the Wildcats’ 24-23 win over West Virginia, the conference office announced Monday.
Burns’ honor marked the first time in Big 12 history a player has been honored in four-consecutive weeks. Prior to last week, only Texas Tech quarterback Graham Harrell (2008) and Texas running back Ricky Williams (1998) had won three-straight player of the week honors. It was the first-career honors for both Burton and Moore.
A product of Manhattan, Kansas, Burton had a career game against the Mountaineers as he carded five receptions for a career-high 135 yards and a touchdown. His touchdown went for 77 yards – the Wildcats’ longest play from scrimmage this season – in the third quarter and gave the Cats their first lead of the game at 17-13 while sparking the second-half rally. Burton, who shared the weekly conference honor with West Virginia running back Wendell Smallwood, bettered his previous career high of 65 receiving yards set earlier this year against TCU. He recorded the Wildcats’ second 100-yard receiving game this year.
Moore was all over the field against West Virginia as he set career highs in tackles (17), solo tackles (16), tackles for loss (4.0) and sacks (2.0) against the Big 12’s second-ranked rushing team. His 16 solo tackles are tied for the most nationally this season and the most by a Wildcat since at least 1999. His biggest stop came late in the game when he recorded a fourth-down tackle of WVU quarterback Skyler Howard with just over two minutes remaining and the Wildcats holding on to the one-point lead.
Burns scored the game-winning touchdown with his Big 12 record-tying fourth kickoff return score of the season. Burns returned three kickoffs for 201 yards, which included his 97-yard touchdown return in the fourth quarter. It was his fourth kickoff-return score of the year and the fifth of his career as he tied both the K-State and Big 12 records. The senior’s 201 kickoff-return yards rank second in school history for a game behind his record-setting 221 yards at Texas Tech earlier this season. Burns also blocked a West Virginia punt in the first quarter a week after recovering a blocked punt for a touchdown at Kansas.
Riding a three-game winning streak which included the comeback win over West Virginia in the regular-season finale to become bowl eligible, Kansas State will play Arkansas in the 2016 AutoZone Liberty Bowl on January 2, at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee. The game, which will kick off at 2:20 p.m., will be shown to a national audience on ESPN. The game can also be heard across the K-State Sports Network and on ESPN Radio.