In which BracketCat counts down the 21st day until the 2025 kickoff with a profile of Kansas State wide receiver Bryce Noernberg.

#21 Bryce Noernberg

Redshirt Freshman | 5-10 | 170 lbs. | Olathe, Kansas

Position: Wide Receiver
Previous College: None
Projection: Co-Third-String
Status: Preferred Walk-On

Bryce Noernberg (b. Aug. 6, 2005) is a walk-on wide receiver from Olathe who is majoring in business administration and redshirted in 2024 as he packed muscle onto his tall frame.

(Although he already caught passes NFL toe-tap-style from backup QBs last fall camp…)

Noernberg served as the primary kick returner last season against both Cincinnati and Rutgers — the latter coming in the Rate Bowl — as he retained his redshirt.

He tallied two returns in each game, going for 48 yards with a long of 25 against the Bearcats and 43 total yards with a long of 24 against the Scarlet Knights.

Noernberg prepped under head coach Ron Litchfield at Olathe High School South, where he played quarterback, recording 6,196 total yards and 83 touchdowns as a passer and rusher during his three-year career. (Watch his highlights here.)

He was selected to the Top 11 team by the Kansas Football Coaches Association (KFBCA) as a senior in 2023, in addition to being the league’s offensive player of the year, a first team all-state selection by the KFBCA and Sports in Kansas, a finalist for the prestigious Simone Awards, and an honorable mention pick by The Wichita Eagle.

Noernberg was honored as a first-team all-state punter by the Eagle, and also was an honorable mention pick as a junior from both Sports in Kansas and the Eagle. (His career long was 62 yards.)

He threw for 1,173 yards and 11 touchdowns while rushing for 1,520 yards and 31 touchdowns as a senior. That came on the heels of his junior season, in which he threw for 1,491 yards and 17 touchdowns while rushing for 885 yards and 14 more scores.

Noernberg prepped at the same school as current K-State defensive end Jordan Allen, as well as former receivers Erwin Nash and Cooper Warren, and competed in track and field.

His choice to walk on at Kansas State was an easy one, he told GoPowercat.com:

My goal was to go to K-State in the first place, so it wasn’t that hard of a decision to make. I feel like my greatest strength to add to my position would be my speed and my vision.