Kansas State senior safety Denzel Goolsby was honored for a second time in as many weeks for his work both on and off the field as he was named to the watch list for the 2019 Wuerffel Trophy, the award’s organization announced Thursday.
The Wuerffel Trophy, known as “College Football’s Premier Award for Community Service,” is presented to the FBS player that best combines exemplary community service with athletic and academic achievement.
The Wildcats have now had a player on the watch list for the Wuerffel Trophy each year since the organization started announcing preseason candidates in 2015. Dante Barnett was a preseason candidate in 2015 and 2016, while Dalton Risner was a candidate in 2017 and a finalist a year ago.
A 2019 Kansas State graduate in professional strategic selling who is currently pursuing his MBA, Goolsby has been a First Team Academic All-Big 12 performer the last two seasons after earning second-team honors as a redshirt freshman in 2016.
On the field, the Wichita, Kansas, native is a two-year starter, accumulating 125 career tackles, eight passes defended and two interceptions. As a sophomore in 2017, Goolsby was named the Defensive MVP of K-State’s Cactus Bowl victory over UCLA when he recorded a timely forced fumble and recovery to set up a short field and the Wildcats’ go-ahead touchdown.
Despite a majority of his time being taken up by academics and football, Goolsby has been involved in many community service projects. Most notably, he has worked with Big Brothers/Big Sisters, an organization he has been involved with since March 2016 and has been paired with a little named Shannon. He also works with the elderly by making numerous visits to Meadowlark Hills retirement community in Manhattan and Avita Senior Living in Wichita.
Kansas State opens the 2019 campaign on Saturday, August 31, with a 6 p.m., contest against Nicholls, a game that will be shown on ESPN+. Tickets to the home opener and the other six home games in 2019 are on sale now through the K-State Athletics Ticket office online at www.kstatesports.com/tickets, by phone at 1-800-221-CATS or at the main ticket office inside Bramlage Coliseum.
***Credit to Ryan Lackey/Kansas State University***
