Why Avery Johnson no longer feels ‘weight of the world on my shoulders’ as K-State QB
When Avery Johnson talks about his high expectations for the Kansas State offense and what it might accomplish this season, he tries his best to leave himself out of the conversation.
“I’m super comfortable and I’m super confident,” Johnson said. “But I think I can only go as far as the people around me. We have so much talent at the offensive line position, at the receiver position, running back, tight ends, you name it. Those guys make my job so easy. ... So I’m just thankful to be in a position I am.”
Even though Johnson is the starting quarterback for a top-25 team, he views his arm as little more than a small cog in a large machine.
Sure, the way he plays as a junior could determine whether the Wildcats contend for a Big 12 championship and playoff berth. But he’s not trying to think that way. Not anymore, at least. The Wichita native is taking a new approach into this season after learning a valuable lesson as a first-time starter last year.
“I put the weight of the world on my shoulders,” Johnson said. “If I missed a throw, I wanted to get it all back the next throw. If we got down, I wanted to score a 14-point touchdown. A lot of times, I would try to be this person or this player. I was trying to fit the narrative of, ‘Oh, he needs to be a passer, and he doesn’t need to run as much. He needs to do this, that and the other.’
“Now, I think I’m really just being myself. If the defense gives up run opportunities, I need to make the defense pay and run the ball. If they give up passing opportunities, I need to be a pocket passer. I need to play to my strengths more and really do what I know I can do best. That’s lead and go out and win football games.”
There wasn’t much to complain about from Johnson last season. As a sophomore, he threw for 2,712 yards and he set the K-State single-season record with 25 touchdowns. He also rushed for 605 yards and seven touchdowns. Plenty of other college quarterbacks would have loved to produce those stats.
But Johnson only completed 58.3% of his passes. He also threw 10 interceptions. And he thinks he left a lot of plays on the field as a runner.
What truly bothered him, though, was how he reacted when things didn’t go his way.
For that reason, limiting interceptions is now one of his primary goals.
“Not as many turnovers,” Johnson said. “I was just trying to do too much at times last year and that caused some unnecessary turnovers. ... Sometimes things just don’t shake out your way. But I felt like I had some unnecessary picks, where I tried to force things and threw the ball right to defenders. I want to eliminate that from (my) game.”
Time will tell if he is able to accomplish that goal. But it sounds like he hasn’t thrown many picks at training camp.
With transfer wide receiver Jaron Tibbs and Jerand Bradley now complementing Jayce Brown in the passing game, Johnson no longer feels like he has to do too much.
“It doesn’t always need to be a 100-yard bomb,” Johnson said. “I don’t always have to force things into tight windows. It’s about being able to create completions when the shots aren’t there. Then, whenever we do get big-shot opportunities, I can throw a one-on-one jump ball, just trying to give my guys a chance. When you have guys like JB and Tibbs, those big-body receivers, they can go up and get jump balls.”
Add in dynamic running backs like Dylan Edwards and Joe Jackson and it’s easy to see why Johnson is no longer putting so much pressure on himself to make big plays.
Right now, the simple play is working just fine.
This story was originally published August 7, 2025 at 6:30 AM with the headline "Why Avery Johnson no longer feels ‘weight of the world on my shoulders’ as K-State QB."