Dalvin Warmack, Dominique Heath announce plans to transfer from Kansas State

The Kansas State football team lost a pair of veteran contributors on Sunday.

Dalvin Warmack and Dominique Heath both announced plans on social media to finish their college football careers elsewhere next season as graduate transfers.

Warmack, a junior running back from Blue Springs, Mo., leaves after three seasons as K-State’s primary scatback. He rushed for 527 yards and three touchdowns on 101 carries with the Wildcats. Warmack was coming off his best season, as he amassed 285 yards of offense and found the end zone three times while helping K-State to an 8-5 record.

He figured to once again complement running backs Alex Barnes and Justin Silmon under new offensive coordinator Andre Coleman had he returned. Instead, he will explore other options.

“I will be transferring after I graduate this May for my final year of eligibility,” Warmack wrote on Twitter. “After a lot of thought and discussion with my family, I believe this is what is in my best interest. I am in the process of searching for a new school. Thank you to all of the fans, my teammates and family for your support over the last four years.”

Warmack was a high school standout at Blue Springs, where he twice won the Simone Award, which is given annually to the top prep football player in the Kansas City area.

Heath, a junior receiver from Huntersville, N.C., leaves the Wildcats after three productive seasons in the passing game. He caught 95 passes for 947 yards and seven touchdowns, often lining up as K-State’s top slot receiver.

He is coming off a mostly disappointing season in which he managed career lows in catches (22), yards (196) and touchdowns (1), but he played hard all season and pulled off a highlight play in the Cactus Bowl when he broke a tackle and crossed the goal line for an eight-yard score.

“I came here as a boy and I am leaving as a man,” Heath wrote on Twitter. “The experiences and life lessons I learned here as a student-athlete is something that I will forever be grateful for. It is with a full heart that I inform my fans that I have come to the decision to graduate in May and continue my football career somewhere closer to home.”

Without Heath, K-State will have to turn to a group of younger receivers next season.

Breontae Matthews, a seldom-used junior offensive lineman, also announced late Sunday that he will transfer.

Warmack, Heath and Matthews are not the first K-State players to announce they won’t return.

Receiver Byron Pringle and defensive back D.J. Reed both turned pro. Fullback Winston Dimel is exploring transfer options and defensive end C.J. Reese transferred to UTEP. Junior offensive lineman Bryce Fitzner took part in senior day ceremonies and will not return. Receiver Carlos Strickland and running back Bernard Goodwater have also departed.

Praire View A&M announced Goodwater as a member of its 2018 recruiting class earlier this week.

K-State coach Bill Snyder eluded to the Heath and Warmack transfers at his singing day news conference.

“I think we may have some additional transfers,” Snyder said. “It remains to be seen. If we do, that’s something you try to plan ahead for the best you possibly can, but when those things happen you don’t have the opportunities to bring in or at least select the right ones, it can become detrimental to your program and your teammates.”

This story was originally published February 11, 2018 at 7:15 PM with the headline "Dalvin Warmack, Dominique Heath announce plans to transfer from Kansas State."