MANHATTAN, Kan. -- Something had been missing from the Kansas State defense most of last season.It only took three plays this season to realize it.On the third snap of Friday nights opener against Stanford , defensive back Dante Barnett announced his return with authority. He darted up from his spot in the secondary and met Heisman Trophy candidate Christian McCaffrey, knocking him back for a 5-yard loss.One of the nations best defensive backs was back.It felt like a welcome-back moment, he said Tuesday, as the Wildcats took an early break in their schedule. They are off this week before playing their home opener against Florida Atlantic on Sept. 17, when they debut the latest round of renovations to Bill Snyder Family Stadium.It will be the first time Barnett has played at home since last years opener, when he hurt his shoulder against South Dakota. His status was in limbo from week to week until he pursued and was granted a medical redshirt, allowing him to return this season.He wound up making four tackles against the Cardinal, two of them for loss.I had missed so many games so being back out there in the first drive, making that tackle, it brought excitement to me, Barnett said. I was happy.So were the Wildcats, who had to press unproven youngsters into duty last season. By the time the Liberty Bowl rolled around, freshman Duke Shelley had locked down one cornerback spot, sophomore Kaleb Prewett had taken over for Barnett, and freshman Kendall Adams was backing him up.Still, while may have been absent from the field, his presence was always felt. He hung around the meeting rooms, was also around the practice field and he was on the sideline during games.It was very tough because Im a competitor, Barnett said. I hate missing games, missing games was tough on me. Im watching my friends play -- which I was proud of -- but wanting to get out there and knowing I couldnt was tough for me.In some ways, the senior had become another assistant coach.You wouldve never known he was out, Adams said. Besides not having him out there physically, he was in all the meetings and practices and talking to us before and during the game.Kansas State coach Bill Snyder welcomed his defensive captains return, knowing that Barnett could help fix a defense that allowed 285.5 yards passing and 25 touchdowns a year ago.The Wildcats only allowed Stanford to throw for 167 yards in their opener.I think it was significant to have him back in the lineup for a lot of different reasons. Snyder said. He played well. He did not really have assignment errors. He played reasonably well against both the run and the pass. I think his leadership, his guidance and his direction of his teammates was beneficial for us in the ball game.All of which was somewhat anticipated. Barnett may have missed last season, but it appears nobody forgot about him: Hes on early watch lists for the Bednarik Award and the Nagurski Trophy.Snyder said this week that besides the physical presence of getting Barnett back on the field, the leadership void that opened up last year was filled -- and that may be his biggest value.Especially when the Wildcats begin playing the pass-happy teams of the Big 12.I think he brings a degree of leadership that wasnt very prolific last year, after we lost him Snyder said. I think the players had an expectation of having him back, they see that as a positive. Theyre looking for him to perform well, which he did. Cheap 76ers Jerseys . Oyama had six birdies and two bogeys at Kintetsu Kashikojima in the event also sanctioned by the Japan LPGA Tour. "I have been having this neck ache thats been affecting my golf recently," Oyama said. Philadelphia 76ers Shirts . Ashley Youngs cross was inadvertently headed by Chester into his own net in the 66th minute, allowing United to claim a third straight league win. "We had to dig deep with our fighting spirit and weve done that," United striker Wayne Rooney said. https://www.cheap76ers.com/ . 10 Texas A&Ms offence dominated as usual against SMU. 76ers Jerseys 2019 . -- Patrick Reed got an early start in golf. 76ers Jerseys 2020 . It was the second consecutive win for the Pacers (2-5), who lost their first five preseason games. Jeff Teague led the Hawks (1-5) with 17 points and eight assists and Al Horford had 12 points and seven rebounds. Mike Scott scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half. RIO DE JANEIRO -- The first Olympics in South America. The first time for golf in 112 years. So imagine the deep sense of honor for Adilson da Silva when the only Brazilian in the 60-man field was chosen to hit the first tee shot.One of the most special times in my life, he said.The honor is not his alone.Joining him on the first tee Thursday at Olympic Golf Course will be Andrew Edmondson, who has been part of da Silvas unlikely golf career for the better part of 30 years. Edmondson asked to be his caddie for the week, and both men could only smile at circumstances that led to this occasion.Long ago, on a nine-hole course in Santa Cruz do Sol about a two-hour flight south of Rio, it was the other way around.Da Silva was an 11-year-old who saw golf only as a way to make a little pocket money.If we found golf balls, we would sell them for pocket money, he said. My parents didnt have much, so we had to do a bit of work. It teaches a good lesson. It was great fun. I used to go with my brother and friends. It teaches you to work a bit, to get things by working for it.The more he worked and watched, the more the game began to appeal to him, even without the proper equipment. Finding golf balls to hit was the easy part. Getting golf clubs required a little imagination. Santa Cruz was the only course in town. Spare golf clubs were in short supply.We used to cut the branch of a tree in the shape of a golf club, da Silva said. It was a proper head, you just had to shape it up nicely. I guess you had to improvise. Your timing had to be right because the shaft would be wobbly.Edmondson, a tobacco buyer from Zimbabwe, used to spend half the year working his trade in Brazil. He loved golf, which was much more prominent in Zimbabwe, a country that produced Nick Price and Mark McNulty.Edmondson would play on the weekends at Santa Cruz, and da Silva was 11 when he first hired him as a caddie.They became close enough, and da Silva was getting good enough, that they would play together when Edmondson didnt have a regular game.I caddied for him for a couple of years when he came over for tobacco season, and weve become good friends, da Silva said. And then one day he said, `Look, do you want to give it a go? Because maybe he thought there was some potential there. I was very fortunate.Edmondson knew the teen would have a hard time developing his game in Brazil.It really was a `baby steps kind of thing, Edmondson said. He didnt go from an 11-year-old caddie to the professional level. Basically, I was living out there and was transferred back to Zimbabwe. They have aa very good junior golf program, and I got him into that.dddddddddddd He got coaching from Tim Price, Nicks brother.Da Silva was 17, and Edmondson figured he played off a 5 handicap. Within a few years, da Silva was winning amateur titles in Brazil and Zimbabwe, and he was good enough to turn pro at age 22.His family still lives in Brazil, though da Silva has moved to Durban, South Africa and plays primarily on the Asian Tour and Sunshine Tour in South Africa. He has four career victories, starting with a Sunshine Tour event in 1998, his best year coming in 2013 when he won the Zambia Open and Sun City Challenge.He has qualified for the British Open three times, making the cut (a tie for 69th) at Royal Lytham & St. Annes in 2012.The Olympics tops them all.As the host nation, Brazil was guaranteed at least one player for the Rio Games. Two Brazilians have made it to the PGA Tour -- Lucas Lee this year and Alexandre Roche in 2011 and 2012 -- and da Silva felt it was going to be close. He left nothing to chance, traveling across Asia to play seven times in eight weeks early in the year, staying away from his family in South Africa to chase world ranking points and secure his spot in Rio.Its a big deal to get here, he said. I maybe have another chance, but this one, I needed to make sure. I sacrificed a lot. There was a lot of traveling. Its hard to leave your wife and kid behind, but it was something I had to do. I couldnt wait for it to happen. I had to make sure I was traveling and playing and practicing.A tie for fourth in the Indian Open in March gave him breathing room, and a runner-up finish in the Swazi Open sealed it.To be at home in Brazil for the first golf in the Olympics in 1904 was special. He was on the course with Rickie Fowler and Henrik Stenson and the rest of the best. And then the greatest week in his life got even better.They came up to me and said, `Youll be the first one to tee off. I was like, `Woooo! What an honor. I feel like I dont deserve it, da Silva said. Im very lucky.Edmondson feels the same way.He has caddied for da Silva a couple of times, mostly at the Zimbabwe Open and once at the Swiss Open. He didnt want to miss this, not with their history together.When it looked like he was going to play in the Olympics, I asked him if he wouldnt mine, and fortunately, he agreed, Edmondson said. Its quite overwhelming. Just to be part of the Olympics, being involved with a close friend, its awesome. ' ' '