Why Sterling Lockett embraced his family’s tradition and committed to Kansas State
As his career as a Kansas State football player came to an end six years ago, Tyler Lockett didn’t seem completely satisfied with his accomplishments.
He’d surpassed his father and uncle for every receiving record in the Wildcats’ history book, but he worried that his statistics (249 catches for 3,710 yards and 29 touchdowns) wouldn’t hold up very long — especially if his younger brother Sterling developed into a college receiver and chose to continue the family tradition by enrolling at K-State after graduating from Blue Valley High in 2022.
“Who knows?” Tyler Lockett said back then. “Sterling may come in next and be able to say he is the best Lockett, that he came in and beat Tyler’s records.”
Now we know why he was concerned.
Sterling Lockett became the latest member of the renowned Lockett family to commit to the Wildcats on Friday. The Blue Valley junior plays receiver just like his father, uncle and brother. As you might expect, he is gunning to set some new family, and school, records as a K-State football player.
“That’s the goal,” Sterling Lockett said in a phone interview. “I’m going to come in and try to out-do everyone else that has been there before me. I’m going to try and work my hardest. The great thing is they are all going to be there to help me, but I am going in there with the mindset that I am going to do my best to stand out, try to play early on and continue the family tradition while I am there.”
Following in his family’s footsteps won’t be easy.
Three of the best receivers that have ever worn a purple Powercat share his last name.
His older brother, Tyler, is the leading receiver in school history and he is currently a star playmaker with the Seattle Seahawks. His father, Kevin, ranks second in K-State history with 3,032 receiving yards, and had a successful NFL career of his own. And Aaron, his uncle, ranks fifth in school history with 2,400 career receiving yards.
Sterling Lockett will play in their shadows throughout his time in Manhattan, and that’s just fine with him.
“He knows he will have to deal with comparisons and the bar will be set very high,” Kevin Lockett said. “But he’s a lot like Tyler mentally. He sees that as a challenge instead of an obstacle.”
Many have joked within the Lockett family for years that Sterling would end up playing at K-State as a receiver. So much so, that it was almost a forgone conclusion that he would commit to the Wildcats once coach Chris Klieman offered him a scholarship.
Sterling Lockett has been attending K-State games since he was nine and he grew up dreaming of one day playing for the Wildcats — just like everyone else in his family.
But the two-star recruit did consider a few other options before announcing his college decision on New Year’s Day. Sterling said he also received recruiting interest from Harvard, Princeton, Yale, South Dakota and North Dakota State. He has career aspirations beyond football, so the Ivy League was appealing. But his family connection to K-State was too strong to ignore.
The Wildcats didn’t rely on that connection during the recruitment process, though. Both Sterling and his father said Klieman and his coaching staff treated him like any other recruit.
“It was nice that they were the first school that really reached out to me and showed me love,” Sterling Lockett said. “The coaches all talked to me a bunch and we established great relationships. You can just tell the fan base there is amazing and even though so much has changed since what I grew up watching they make it feel like home.”
One notable difference between Sterling and the rest of his family is that he will be the first Lockett to play for a K-State coach other than Bill Snyder.
But everyone in the Lockett family is a big fan of Klieman. Sterling thinks his skills as a 5-foot-10 and 155-pound receiver will translate perfectly to the offense Courtney Messingham runs in Manhattan, especially on play-action passes.
They also think Klieman runs the program in similar fashion to the way Snyder once did.
“We have all had a great deal of success at that university and it’s the perfect environment for Sterling,” Kevin Lockett said. “From a football perspective, it’s a really good fit for him. We really like what Coach Klieman is doing down there.”
The big question now is: What can K-State fans expect from Sterling when he arrives on campus in two years?
Sterling says route-running is his biggest attribute and that he has a knack for getting open whenever his high school team throws deep. His father agrees that Sterling runs precise routes, but suggests that his mental game is what truly helps him stand out.
After talking football with Aaron, Kevin and Tyler for years, he can break down a defensive formation at the age of 17 better than any of them could as college upperclassmen.
“He is still developing,” Kevin Lockett said. “He definitely has a really big catch radius. He is built like me, kind of long and lean with long arms. He has really good hands, but he also has the same kind of shiftiness that Tyler has. Right now, what we are working on before the first time he touches down in Manhattan is can we get him to have the speed of his uncle Aaron. If he can have the best attributes of all three of us, then he will have a chance to do some really special things.”
Just like his father, uncle and brother did before him.
And, perhaps, like his younger brothers Jacob and Jordan might also do after him.
“We have got twin boys that are sixth graders,” Kevin Lockett said. “If things play out and Sterling is there for five years, it’s possible the moment that he walks off campus there could be twin boys walking on to spend five more years at Kansas State.”
This story was originally published January 1, 2021 at 2:24 PM.