When it comes to being one of the Big 12 Conference’s top-flight returning kickoff returners and wide receivers, there’s no satisfaction for Tyler Lockett.
All he wants is more.
Lockett enters his junior season at Kansas State with a 33.8-yard kickoff return average and four touchdowns — ranking second in school and conference history in both categories. Moreover, Lockett, who had 688 yards in 21 returns and two touchdowns in 2012, is back as the Wildcats’ leading wide receiver after making 44 catches for 687 yards.
“I think the best thing about it is not being able to be satisfied,” said Lockett, who has returned two kicks for touchdowns in each of the past two seasons, including 100-yard returns in back-to-back seasons, a school record. “It’s one thing to be good, but it’s another thing to be great.
“Just because certain things have happened in your life that may have been good, that shouldn’t stop you from trying to reach your full potential. Just because you achieved something last year or two years ago, it’s no longer your potential.”
Lockett, a product of Booker T. Washington High School in Tulsa, Okla., is steeped in football pedigree, although his father and uncle established themselves as Kansas State mainstays as punt returners, as well as receivers.
• His father, Kevin Lockett, was a record-setting wide receiver in the now-defunct Big Eight for the Wildcats (1993-96) and played seven seasons in the National Football League as a wideout and punt returner. Kevin set the Kansas State career receiving and yardage records with 217 catches for 3,023 yards. A 1997 NFL second-round draft selection by the Kansas City Chiefs, he played for the Chiefs until 2000 before signing with the Washington Redskins (2001-2002). He signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars, two days after he was released from the Redskins, and finished the season with the Jags. He closed his career with the New York Jets in 2003.
• His uncle, Aaron Lockett, a wide receiver/punt returner, led the nation in punt returns in 2000 for the Wildcats, averaging 22.8 yards per return. He was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2002 draft and also played for the San Francisco 49ers in 2002 and 2003. Aaron also played in the Canadian Football League for the Ottawa Renegades (2004) before winding up his career with the British Columbia Lions (2004-2006).
Former Big 12 kickoff returners Brandon Banks (Kansas State, 2008-2009) and Justin Gilbert (Oklahoma State, 2010-2012) are tied for the conference record for touchdowns with five apiece.
Tyler Lockett is right on their tails. The 5-foot-11, 180-pounder was an honorable mention All-America selection last season as a kick returner by Sports Illustrated, along with ESPN.com naming him as a first-team All-Big 12 pick.
“You want to try to figure out everything that’s on the inside of you, everything that you’re capable of doing and seeing what’s in store for you,” he said. “To be able to do that, you can’t allow ‘good’ be your biggest enemy. You’ve got to strive for great. You’ve got to strive for perfection.”

Notes — Lockett’s career kickoff return yardage of 1,096 ranks fourth in school history, while he ranks fifth in school history with 106.7 all-purpose yards per game. He finished 2011 with 563 yards on 16 kickoff returns for a 35.2 average in being named as a first-team Walter Camp All-America selection. ... Banks (5-7, 153), who spent three seasons with the Redskins, is currently a free agent. ... Lest not forget David Allen, who starred for the Wildcats from 1997-2000, where they posted a 44-7 record during that stretch. Allen was a consensus All-America selection in 1998, when he led the nation in punt returns with a 22.1-yard average. He became the only player in NCAA history to return punts for touchdowns in three straight games. He finished with seven total.