Kansas State may be heading into Saturday’s road trip to Arizona State with a major question mark under center.
Avery Johnson, the senior quarterback who has started 32 straight games for the Wildcats, was listed as questionable on K-State’s initial availability report for the 2:45 p.m. game inside Mountain America Stadium. That status caught attention because Johnson played a big role in last week’s rivalry win over Kansas, throwing for 209 yards and a touchdown while adding 132 rushing yards.
He also took part in the celebration afterward, joining teammates on a victory lap around Bill Snyder Family Stadium and trading high-fives with fans.
Still, there was a moment in that game that now looks far more significant. Early after a 59-yard run, Johnson came down awkwardly and stayed on the turf for several minutes, clearly in discomfort. At one point, a teammate came over and asked if he was OK, and Johnson shook his head and pointed to his right shoulder before K-State trainers rushed in to check on him.
Johnson eventually got back on his feet and finished the game without any obvious limitation. “I just got the wind knocked out of me.” But the Wildcats now appear to believe the issue may be tied to his neck and shoulder area, which leaves his status uncertain for Saturday.
Johnson has thrown for 1,301 yards and 10 touchdowns this season. He also hasn’t missed meaningful time as a college quarterback before now.
If he can’t go, Jacob Knuth would likely get the start. The 6-foot-4, 225-pound senior began his college career at Minnesota and has attempted three passes for K-State, completing all of them for 25 yards. He threw for 9 yards in the season opener against Nicholls and has been used more as a runner, with eight carries for 88 yards and one touchdown in his time with the Wildcats.
Quarterback uncertainty has already been a theme for Kansas State this season. Blake Barnett has been out since the opener while recovering from a lower-body injury that required him to walk with crutches, and Dillon Duff and Knuth have also shown up on the questionable list before games.
Until now, Johnson had been the exception.
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