Weibert enjoying being at the center of KSU action

Wade Weibert has been living a dream.

The 2006 Hillsboro High School grad?s football skills have provided for his education in business management at Kansas State University.

And they?ve unfolded a wide range of opportunities: to learn from a legendary coach, to compete against players of the highest calibre and to visit places many of us recognize only by television.

Weibert first played at Butler Community College, where helped contributed to the Grizzlies? co-national championship in December 2007. He transferred to KSU the following spring, then was red-shirted for the 2008 season under coach Ron Prince.

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Weibert opened his junior season as a guard, then took over as starting center in the second game of year. Along the way, has developed a study routine to sustain his success on the field and in the classroom.

With Sundays off after the Saturday games, Weibert?s work-week follows a fairly tight schedule. During the fall semester, he is up at 7 a.m. for treatment of various minor injuries?cuts and bruises?that come with playing contact sports.

From there he heads to class, and after class and lunch he ?works in a quick weight workout, about an hour in the weight room,? he said.

?At about 2:45 to about a quarter til four, we have meetings, then practice til, usually, about seven.?

After practice, Weibert eats dinner, then spends time in study hall and reviewing game tape until about 11 p.m.

?Including class and study hall, it?s about even with football,? Weibert said. ?I was enrolled in 12 hours of class, so I was required to do two hours of study hall, but usually put in about four to six to get everything done,? he said.

And of course, the games are focal points.

Weibert talked about the early-season visit to Pasadena, where the Wildcats fell to UCLA 23-9. He noted that a better outcome in that game?or against Louisiana-Lafayette the previous week?may have led to a bowl berth, but also that the experience of playing in Rose Bowl Stadium was ?amazing.?

Weibert also spoke about the opposition?and in particular about battling Nebraska?s defensive centerpiece Ndamukong Suh, who is likely to be chosen among the top players in the upcoming NFL?draft.

But he said some of the most enduring lessons he will take away from this season have come from head coach Bill Snyder, who returned to the helm at KSU this fall after a three-year retirement.

Weibert said the Wildcats ?handled adversity better than prosperity?we?d have had more success if we poured it on, like we did at (Texas) A&M.?

He also said that football has taught him two life lessons:

?Don?t ever get comfortable, don?t be complacent, and when you set a goal, achieve it and set another goal for yourself.?

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