Avery Johnson making strong case to be Big 12’s best quarterback

MANHATTAN, Kan. — Kansas State’s sophomore gunslinger wowed fans with his explosive plays in the 42-20 victory over Oklahoma State Saturday afternoon, and now it appears he’s ready for the Big 12 gauntlet.

Avery Johnson is arguably one of he best dual-threat quarterbacks in the country, considering he can do damage to the opposition with his arm and legs. The Cowboys found that out the hard way, and couldn’t contain Johnson. After all, he completed 19 of his 31 passes for 259 yards and three touchdowns. Not to mention Johnson posted two rushing scores.

The former four-star prospect had full command of the Wildcats’ offense, made others around him better and the team responded well to his intensity. Not to mention Kansas State (4-1) racked up a season-high, 559 yards of total offense, including 300 on the ground against Oklahoma State.

Johnson wanted to show the fans that week four’s shortcomings at BYU was a fluke, and there’s no doubt that he made a statement. Now he’s focusing on the road ahead.

“It really was just how poorly we played last week, so we wanted to come out, play free and play our game because we knew what we put on tape last week wasn’t us,” Johnson said. “So definitely a confident win for us this week, but still gotta get ready for Colorado.”

Johnson led the Wildcats to a touchdown on their first drive of the game, which was capped off with an 11-yard rushing score by him. The signal-caller never panicked after he threw an interception to Oklahoma State’s Korie Black, and Kansas State fell behind by six points in the second quarter.

Johnson simply responded with a 19-yard touchdown pass to tight end Garrett Oakley. He also connected with wideout Jayce Brown for a 55-yard score, and the Wildcats led the Cowboys by eight points at halftime.

“Things aren’t always going to go my way, and the biggest thing, especially from a young quarterback, is how are you going to respond when adversity hits,” he said. “I did a poor job last week of responding at adverse times, so a big focus for this week was not letting any of that type of stuff get to me.”

The Wildcats came out in the second half, and scored three additional touchdowns, including two that Johnson accounted for. Kansas State posted 21 unanswered points, and Oklahoma State didn’t score against until it was under two minutes left in the game.

Once the smoke cleared, the Wildcats led the Cowboys in total offense and yards per play. Johnson even connected with three different players for touchdowns. Clearly he left a lasting impression on the fans as the Wildcats approach their bye-week. Which is why Coach Chris Klieman admires Johnson’s versatility, and can’t say enough about his quarterback.

“I don’t know if I’m totally right on this, but I think our 4 for 4 red zone, were all touchdowns, and that’s a big deal when you’re getting touchdowns down there, and doing it a lot of different ways, running and throwing the ball,” Klieman said. “Avery making a couple of really creative plays with his legs.”

Now it appears the best is yet to come for Johnson, and he’s clearly establishing himself as one of the best players in the conference. And that speaks volumes, considering the Big 12 is full of elite quarterbacks. The Wildcats are still the hunted though, so Johnson needs to keep his head on a swivel because opposing defenses will be gunning for him.

Johnson thrives on that type of attention though, and is ready for whatever comes his way as the Wildcats continue to navigate through the Big 12 meat grinder. In his mind, Kansas State’s offense is going to keep improving, and the unit’s balance will be hard to stop down the stretch.

“Whenever you can run and pass the ball at a high level, and keep defenders on their toes it’s definitely a big plus, and opens up our play-calling a bunch, and allows us not to be one-dimensional.”