Kansas State’s Daniel Thomas has already put himself on the Heisman radar.
Carrying to a tune of a career-high 234 yards last Saturday in a 31-22 season-opening win over UCLA will do that for a dominant senior running back like Thomas.
“Words cannot explain it,” said Will Powell, Kansas State’s complementary back to Thomas. “Daniel is a great running back. Daniel gets the whole team excited. I see him making plays and that just makes me want to play that much harder.
“When he comes out and I go in, I don’t want there to be any discrepancy. I want to get in there and be able to produce, just he like he does.”
 It didn’t take long for the 2009 Big 12 rushing champion to find his rhythm against the Bruins. Now Thomas, a Hilliard, Fla., native, is trying  to let the beat build for the long haul.
Week 2 brings Missouri State to Manhattan on Saturday to take on Kansas State in a 6:10 p.m. kickoff at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
Thomas, a 6-foot-2, 228-pound senior, who accumulated 1,265 rushing yards last season, was complemented by Powell – when the converted quarterback wasn’t lining up in one-back sets and pounding away at UCLA’s defense, which yielded 313 yards on the ground.
“He’s a speed back and I’m more of a power back,” said Thomas, when asked about Powell, a 5-9, 207-pound senior and a native of Duncanville, Texas. “He’s a running back a lot of people don’t know about. I was telling (a reporter) earlier during the year that he’s going to turn a lot of heads.”
Powell finished with 72 yards in six carries against UCLA, giving the Wildcats a different dimension.
“I feel like I can get in there and slither around and get those couple yards,” Powell said. “(Thomas) can bang people for a couple yards. It’s either way.”
Powell made some big runs, after UCLA closed to the gap to 17-16 midway through the fourth quarter. Powell rushed for 18 and 8 yards on consecutive plays during a 6-play, 45-yard scoring drive, which put the Wildcats up 24-16 with 4:15 left.
“With me pounding inside and Will Powell coming in and just breaking free, the defense won’t know what to expect,” Thomas said. “During the summer, some of the guys were racing and Powell, he’s really fast.
“He beat everybody.”