Kansas State quarterback Avery Johnson enters this season with no shortage of reasons to be locked in.
He wants the obvious things: a Big 12 championship, a possible spot in the College Football Playoff, and a strong showing in Collin Klein’s first season as the Wildcats’ coach. He may also be staring at his last real shot to make that happen unless he decides to come back for a fifth year of eligibility.
Then there’s the outside noise. That part has only grown louder.
College Football Report recently released its top 30 quarterbacks in the country, and six Big 12 passers made the cut. Johnson was not one of them. The quarterbacks from the conference who did make the list were Drew Mestamaker of Oklahoma State, Devon Dampier of Utah, Bear Bachmeier of BYU, Noah Fafita of Arizona, Conner Weigman of Houston and Will Hammond of Texas Tech.
For Johnson, the omission is just another reminder of how quickly opinions can shift. He arrived in Manhattan with plenty of hype, and he’s still the kind of competitor who doesn’t need bulletin-board material to get going. But it’s there now anyway.
This will be his third season as the full-time starter, and the expectations around him have never really let up. His freshman season brought real promise and even Heisman Trophy chatter. Last year, as a junior, he took something of a step back.
That doesn’t mean he’s played poorly. It means the standard around him has been high from the start. Kansas State was comfortable moving on from Will Howard to hand the offense over to Johnson three years ago, and the Wildcats have stayed committed to him ever since.
Johnson has also turned down more lucrative NIL opportunities elsewhere, choosing to remain in Manhattan. If he can turn that loyalty into a big year at Kansas State, it would make the doubters’ skepticism sting a lot more on the way out.
For now, the Wildcats are simply hoping he can tune out the noise and deliver a steady season.
In Other News...
Brandon White Is Emerging As A Key Piece For Kansas State
Brandon White arrived at Kansas State with the sort of transfer profile that can quietly reshape a receiver room, and the Wildcats are already treating him like someone who should matter this fall. Avery Johnson gave White a notable endorsement during Big 12 Media Days, pointing to both his ability on the field and the presence he has brought into the locker room, a good sign for a program looking for reliable targets as it settles into a new season.
The timing is useful, too, with the program set to put its roster in front of fans at the upcoming Meet the Cats event, where coach Collin Klein and players will be on hand. For a team that wants to keep building around Johnson, White looks like one of the newcomers worth watching closely, even before the first real test arrives. [Read more 🡒]
Former Kansas State LB Austin Romaine Is Turning Heads In The Big 12
Austin Romaine did enough at Kansas State to leave a real impression, and now he is carrying that reputation into a new setting at Texas Tech. After recording 60 tackles and a half sack for the Wildcats before transferring, the former K-State linebacker has already been noticed again, with Pro Football Focus College naming him among the Big 12s best returning linebackers and teammates in Lubbock offering early praise for the way he has fit in.
For Kansas State fans, it is another reminder of how much production Romaine brought to the defense before moving on, and why his next step is worth watching. Texas Tech clearly believes it added a player who can help elevate the middle of the defense, and the buzz around him is only growing as he settles into his new program and tries to build on the foundation he established in Manhattan. [Read more 🡒]
Kansas State Freshman Garrick Dixon Could Help Sooner Than Expected
Garrick Dixon arrived in Manhattan with the kind of rsum that usually comes with a little more long-range planning, even for a freshman cornerback. The St. Louis product signed with Kansas State after being rated one of Missouris top prospects at the position and stacking up multiple high school football honors, which is part of why he entered the program with real buzz despite the expectation that he would take the slower developmental route.
Stanton Weber said Dixon is expected to redshirt, but the special teams coordinator also made it clear the rookie should have a role there right away, which can change a freshmans timeline in a hurry. For Kansas State, that makes Dixon one of those early-camp names worth tracking: not necessarily because he is being asked to jump into a full-time defensive role, but because special teams can become the quickest path from promising newcomer to useful contributor. [Read more 🡒]