Dineen and Wise close out Kansas careers with All-Big 12 First Team honors from the Associated Press
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas senior captains Joe Dineen Jr., and Daniel Wise concluded their Jayhawk careers by being named All-Big 12 First Team by the Associated Press, marking the first time for both players to earn the distinction. Dineen and Wise were each tabbed All-Big 12 Second Team by the outlet in 2017.
Also earning All-Big 12 First Team honors for Kansas was freshman running back Pooka Williams, who was selected as the all-purpose player. Williams also took home Newcomer of the Year honors from the outlet. In addition, Williams was selected as an All-Big 12 Second Team honoree as a running back along with sophomore punter Kyle Thompson.
A Lawrence, Kansas, native, Dineen led the Big 12 Conference in tackles for the second-consecutive year—just the second player in conference history to do so joining Texas Tech’s Lawrence Flugence (2001, 2002, 2003). Dineen turned in a career-best 147 tackles, which ranks sixth on KU’s single-season chart. His 12.3 stops per game in 2018 also ranks fourth in the FBS.
For the second-straight season, Dineen led the FBS and the Big 12 Conference in solo tackles with 108 during his senior campaign. Dineen collected 11 tackles-for-loss in 2018, giving him a KU-record 45.5 in his career, making him both the single-season TFL record-holder (25.0 in 2017) and career record-holder. Additionally, Dineen’s 391 career-tackles rank fourth in Kansas history.
A native of Lewisville, Texas, Wise led the Jayhawk defense with 12.5 TFLs in 2018. His career total of 44.0 tackles behind the line scrimmage rank second in KU history, just 1.5 behind Dineen.
Wise led KU in sacks in 2018 with 5.0, while he added five quarterback hurries and 34 total tackles as a senior. In addition to concluding his career at Kansas ranked second in TFLs, Wise ranks sixth in sacks with 18.5. His 16.0 TFLs in 2017 rank 10th in KU single-season history, while his 7.0 sacks in 2017 also rank 10th on KU’s single-season charts.
A New Orleans native, Williams rushed for a total of 1,125 yards on 161 carries, good for 102.3 yards per game, 7.0 yards per carry and seven rushing touchdowns. He added 289 yards and two scores on 33 receptions and 246 yards on 11 kick returns to lead the Big 12 and rank sixth in the FBS in all-purpose yards at 150.9 per game. Williams also threw for a touchdown—a nine-yard pass against Oklahoma.
Williams’ 1,125 rushing yards tie him for eighth place in KU’s single-season history books, ranking him second among Jayhawk freshmen on that list. His 252 rushing yards at Oklahoma rank sixth in KU’s single-game records, while his 16.8 yards per carry against the Sooners was both a Big 12 Conference and Kansas record for a game with a minimum of 15 carries. His 1,660 all-purpose yards rank third on KU’s single-season list.
Thompson, who hails from El Cajon, California, was the Big 12’s top punter in 2018, averaging 43.3 yards per punt. He recorded 17 kicks of 50 yards or longer and dropped 26 of his punts inside the opponent’s 20-yard line. Thompson turned in a career-long 76-yard punt in KU’s season-finale against Texas.
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