MANHATTAN — If he hadn’t missed the final four games, one has to wonder what kind of season Tyler Lockett would have had in 2011.
Despite being shelved after Week 9, suffering a lacerated kidney, Lockett still became one of the most decorated freshman football players in Kansas State history.
For starters, the 5-foot-11, 175-pound sophomore was named as a Walter Camp All-American first-team selection, the lone true freshman in the group.
Check out some of Lockett’s other accolades:
• Big 12 Conference Offensive Freshman of the Year.
• Kansas State and Big 12 single-season record for kickoff return average at 35.2 yards per return.
• Second-team All-America selection as kick returner by rivals.com and Sports Illustrated.
• First player in Kansas State history to record kick returns for touchdowns in consecutive games.
After missing the spring game, Lockett is anxious to get back on the field. Kansas State opens its season on Sept. 1, playing host to Missouri State. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. at Bill Snyder Family Stadium in Manhattan.
“I’m feeling 100 percent,” said Lockett, who had a 100-yard return for a touchdown against Texas Tech in Lubbock, Texas, on Oct. 15, 2011, and then followed it up with a 97-yard return for a score at Kansas the following week.
“I’m ready to go. I see a lot of things I need to work on. My biggest thing is just being a student in the film room and working hard every day.”
Lockett also had a season-high five catches for 110 yards in the KU game, including a 19-yard scoring reception, as he had 251 all-purpose yards during a 59-21 triumph in Lawrence.
The Tulsa, Okla., native, who prepped at Booker T. Washington High School, finished his shortened season with 18 catches for 246 yards and three TDs. His season-best 48-yard reception also came during the KU game.
Tyler is the son of Kansas State career-receiving leader Kevin Lockett (1993-96) and the nephew of Aaron Lockett (1998-2001), Kevin’s younger brother — one of the top return specialists in Wildcats history.
When he needs some fine tips on kick-returning or pass-catching, you’d think Lockett would go to his father or his uncle, right?
Instead, he’s mentored by Kansas State wide receivers coach Michael Smith (1988-91), who accumulated the third-most receiving yards in the old Big Eight Conference (2,457 yards), trailing only Oklahoma State’s Hart Lee Dykes (1988) and 1972 Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Rodgers, out of Nebraska.
Incidentally, Smith, who had a penchant for acrobatic catches, also mentored Kevin Lockett and Aaron Lockett.
“Just being able to see things go on, it kind of helped me with Coach Smith being there,” Lockett said of film sessions with Smith during his freshman season. “There were some times whenever I would see a hole, I would take off to that hole quick.
“But Coach Smith told me to read the field and kind of work on my vision and try to see the field and see where I’m supposed to be and try to set people up to get myself in an open lane.”
