Not that he would mind the company, but Leon Patton’s not ready for the comparisons being made about him and former Kansas State All-America running back Darren Sproles.

“I probably heard it once or twice, or more,” said Patton, who at 5-foot-7 and 184 pounds has a build nearly identical to Sproles’, the Wildcats’ career rushing leader now on injured reserve with the San Diego Chargers. “It’s a big compliment, (but) I really don’t think about that stuff.”

If Patton’s performance against Oklahoma State last week is any indication of his future, plenty more comparisons will follow. On a day in which he became the first true freshman tailback to start for K-State, Patton ripped off a 95-yard kickoff return that helped his team rally for a 31-27 victory. That touchdown led to him being named the Big 12 Conference special-teams player of the week.

He could have easily been named the recipient of the offensive award after he rushed for 151 yards and another score on 21 carries, and had 33 yards receiving. His 301 all-purpose yards were the most by a K-State freshman — and just 50 shy of the school record, held by, you guessed it, Sproles.

“I see myself doing things, (where) before I didn’t,” said Patton, who as a senior at W.T. White High in the Dallas suburb of Cedar Hill, Texas, rushed for 1,309 yards (averaging 7.7 per carry) and 11 touchdowns. He also had 20 receptions for 359 yards and three more scores.

Recruited by Bobby Elliott, the defensive coordinator under former Kansas State coach Bill Snyder, Patton began this season watching sixth-year senior Carlos Alsup start the opener in place of the suspended Thomas Clayton. Patton got seven carries in that game, but when Clayton returned the next week, Patton’s work load went down to three attempts. He then got none in the Wildcats’ third and fourth games, and just three in the conference opener against Baylor.

But last week — although Clayton had no health issues and was leading K-State with 322 yards rushing and a 4.8 per-carry average — Patton received a text message from running backs coach Tim Horton that let him know he should prepare to make his first start.

“I was speechless,” Patton said. “It surprised me, big time.”

He was quick to return the favor. Now, as Kansas State wraps up preparations for Saturday’s game against Nebraska, Patton, thanks to runs of 40, 35 and 27 yards, is averaging a team-best 6.1 yards per attempt.

And somewhere, as he watched tape of the Wildcats, Bill Callahan had to be reminded of Sproles, who had 159-, 140- and 135-yard rushing efforts against the Huskers from 2002 through 2004.

While Callahan is especially impressed with Patton’s kickoff-return ability, he acknowledges that his short stature can be advantageous to him as a running back.

“I don’t think (he can hide). You’ve really got to key the back — that’s the No. 1 key in football,” Callahan said.

But “when he gets up into the line of scrimmage — and he’s in the hole and how he shifts and cuts and makes plays — that’s different. Very similar to Cory Ross. He could get behind the line, he could do what we would call ‘Ride the wave.’ Once a play starts going, you can get on that ‘wave’ and all of a sudden cut back and bounce off the backs of your offensive linemen and make plays. That’s where you can lose a back, somewhat. …

“The great backs are the backs that have speed and, especially (pertaining to) this young man, the speed to bounce. You could be in the perfect position, but when it comes to speed versus speed, that’s where he can hurt you. He can bounce outside and no matter what kind of speed you’ve got, he can break it.”

Again, Patton might find that talk flattering. But for now, his primary concern is to keep making strides to help the Wildcats’ offense become more proficient — because for all of his contributions last week, Kansas State is just 87th in total offense among the 119 NCAA Division I-A teams.

“It’s a week-by-week thing,” Patton said. “We’re (becoming) more aware of things going on.”

Reach Curt McKeever at 473-7441 or cmckeever@journalstar.com.