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 By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Kyle McNorton was one of the greatest linebackers in University of Kansas football history, helping lead the Jayhawks to a major turnaround in the late 1970s and early '80s.

The former Seaman star still bleeds Jayhawk Blue and continues to hold out hope for a similar KU turnaround after its recent struggles. 

"We've had season tickets through all this, the good and the bad,'' said McNorton, inducted Wednesday into the Topeka Shawnee County Sports Hall of Fame. "We went to the (2008) Orange Bowl, and at the time we joked about it, but now it might be true that it might have been the only chance I had to go to a big bowl game.''

Seaman graduate Kyle McNorton (right) is a member of the 2021 Topeka Shawnee County Sports Hall of Fame class after starring for Kansas and playing two seasons in the NFL for the Kansas City Chiefs. [Submitted]

McNorton played at Kansas from 1978-81 and at the time was the all-time leading tackler in school history with 381 tackles.

He was named the Jayhawks' MVP and was a unanimous first-team All Big 8 selection and earned All-America recognition his senior season after KU earned a berth in the Hall of Fame Classic.

"We went 1-10 my first year under Bud Moore and then got better each year under Coach Fam (Don Fambrough) and our senior year we were a Top 20 team,'' McNorton said.

The Jayhawks have struggled off and on since then, particularly in recent seasons, but McNorton maintains optimism that things will get better.

"We still have season tickets and we tailgate with a lot of my old teammates, so it's fun,'' he said. "You keep hoping, right? It's disappointing, there's no doubt about that. You're disappointed in the fact that they can't do better than they are, but they are also in one of the top conferences, which makes it even harder.

"And football is such a team sport. You have to have all the pieces. It takes 11 or really 22 to be a really good team, so I think it's really harder for a football team to turn it around.''

After finishing up his career at Kansas, McNorton got the opportunity to play two seasons for the Kansas City Chiefs before knee injuries ended his NFL career.

"I got hurt both years, the same knee,'' McNorton said. "The first year it didn't tear it up. It was twisted or stretched or whatever, and then the next year in the second or third game I tore it up on an interception (against the Bengals).

"I should have dropped the ball. I was covering a guy out in the flat and made a one-handed grab and took off. Turk Schonert (the Cincinnati quarterback) was who it was and he had the angle on me and hit me and it just twisted and tore it all up. I got a fake knee out of that deal now.''

McNorton was cut loose by the Chiefs after the second injury and said he knew in his heart that his playing days were over.

"They called me in and told me they weren't re-signing my contract and you're free to go play for somebody else, but I was done,'' he said.

McNorton still feels that if not for the injuries he could have put together an extended NFL career.

"Being there and playing in a few games and practicing, I really do,'' McNorton said. "Now it wouldn't have been a Tom Brady career, but I think it was very reasonable to think I could have made it.''

As is the case with KU, McNorton continues to be a big fan of the Chiefs.

"I've watched them and been just as loyal as I have been to KU through every game throughout the years,'' he said. "It's a lot more furn watching now than it had been.''

And although his playing career ended a lot sooner than he would have liked, McNorton has no complaints with how things turned out.

McNorton went back to school and got his college degree from Kansas. Then, after going through a few other jobs, he hooked on with Topeka's Capital City Oil 27 years ago.

"It's been a good run,'' he said. "This has been a good fit. When I started here I was the fifth employee and we've got 35 now, so we've grown a lot. We've done a lot of good things and its been through the hard work that everybody here has put in. It's a team effort.''

 Hall of Fame Class of 2021 capsules:

Seaman graduate Kyle McNorton, who starred at Kansas before playing for the Kansas City Chiefs is a member of the 2021Topeka Shawnee County Sports Hall of Fame class. [Submitted}

KYLE McNORTON

McNorton attended Northern Hills Junior High and graduated from Seaman, where he was student council president, Homecoming King and participated in football, basketball, wrestling and track.

McNorton qualified for the state meet in his one season of wrestling while in track McNorton ran sprints, setting the school record in the 440-yard dash, and competed in various field events.

He started all three years as a running back and linebacker for the Vikings in football and led the city of Topeka in yards per carry as a senior while earning all-league and All-City recognition. McNorton earned Most Valuable Player honors in the Kansas Shrine Bowl the summer following his high school graduation.

McNorton started the last three games of his freshman season at linebacker for Kansas and started the next three seasons as the Jayhawks improved from 1-10 his freshman season to a nationally-ranked Top 20 team his senior year.

McNorton ended his career with 381 tackles, at the time the all-time leading tackler in school history. He was named the Jayhawks' MVP and was a unanimous first-team All Big 8 selection and earned All-America recognition.

McNorton signed a professional contract with the Chiefs and was selected the MVP of a game against New Orleans Saints game before his NFL career was cut short due to knee injuries.

Former Highland Park and Missouri State star and current European standout Kyle Weems is a member of the 2021 Topeka Shawnee County Sports Hall of Fame class. [Twitter]

KYLE WEEMS

Weems earned All-State basketball honors as a senior at Highland Park after the Scots became only the second boys team in city history to post anundefeated season en route to the Class 5A state championship.

Weems went on to put together one of the most outstanding college careers in Missouri State history. He was named the Missouri Valley Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year and an NCAA Division I All-American following the 2010-11 season.

Weems averaged 16 points and 8 rebounds as a junior as the Bears won the Missouri Valley Conference regular-season title.

Weems finished his college career No. 2 on Missouri State's career scoring list with 1,868 points, tied for No. 4 in rebounds with 844 and No. 6 in blocks with 114.

A 6-foot-6 forward, Weems has played professional basketball overseas since 2012, playing in Germany, France, Turkey and Italy.

Weems, who played in the NBA Summer League in 2012 and 2013 for the Warriors, Raptors and Hawks, is currently playing for Virtus Bologna of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A, helping the team win the Italian title earlier this spring.

Highland Park and Washburn star Michael Wilhoite, who played six seasons in the NFL and is an assistant coach for the Chargers, is a member of the 2021 Shawnee County Sports Hall of Fame class. [Ninersnoise.com]

MICHAEL WILHOITE

Wilhoite was a football and basketball standout at Highland Park before becoming a football standout for Washburn University and playing in the NFL for the San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks.

Wilhoite played quarterback at Highland Park and was used at six different positions for Washburn before playing linebacker and becoming a special teams standout in the NFL.

Wilhoite, 6-foot, 245 pounds, earned a spot on the 49ers practice squad in late 2011 and was promoted to the active roster late in the 2012 season, helping San Francisco make a run to Super Bowl XLVII.

"We were battling to be the cellar-dweller. My freshman year they beat us out there and I can remember the game. The crowd rushed the field with about a minute to go and they were trying to tear down the goal post and the game was still going on. It was crazy.

After playing five seasons for the 49ers, Wilhoite finished his playing career with the Seahawks in '17.

Wilhoite played in 79 NFL games with 45 starts, recording 298 tackles with four pass interceptions.

Wilhoite spent the '19 and '20 seasons as an assistant coach for the New Orleans Saints and is currently the linebackers coach for the Los Angeles Chargers.