K-State QB Skylar Thompson expected to play again this season after scary knee injury
There is growing optimism within the Kansas State football team that Skylar Thompson will be able to play again this season for the Wildcats despite the senior quarterback suffering a scary knee injury against Southern Illinois.
A day after Thompson collapsed on the field at Bill Snyder Family Stadium and limped to the locker room with an injury to his right knee, a pair of sources told The Eagle that the injury is not believed to be as severe as originally feared. The sources declined to go into specifics about the nature of Thompson’s injury, but said it is not considered season ending.
In fact, the sources said Thompson could be ready to play after only a few weeks of recovery.
Thompson is not expected to suit up for K-State’s next game against Nevada on Saturday. Wildcats coach Chris Klieman said as much following the team’s 31-23 victory over Southern Illinois when he said K-State would be relying on backup quarterback Will Howard for “the foreseeable future.”
Thompson’s timetable for a return depends on how his body responds to the knee injury.
Klieman could not be reached for comment on Sunday. He is next scheduled to speak with media on Monday morning during the Big 12 coaches’ teleconference.
On Saturday, Klieman said he didn’t have any updates to share on Thompson’s injury. But he did say “we’ll pray for the best and see what happens.”
In any case, this is a good injury update for K-State.
The Wildcats are clearly a better team when Thompson is in command of the offense. He has started 32 games during his long college career and is one of the most experienced quarterbacks in all of college football.
He guided K-State to a 24-7 victory over Stanford in the team’s opener and led the Wildcats to a 7-0 lead before leaving the Southern Illinois game.
Howard struggled trying to replace Thompson on Saturday, as he threw for just 76 yards.
Thompson has dealt with injuries in the past, and he was unable to finish out his original senior season with the Wildcats last year when he suffered an injury to his throwing arm in the team’s second Big 12 game against Texas Tech.
Many, including Klieman feared for the worst when Thompson came up lame while trying to throw a block for running back Deuce Vaughn on Saturday. Thompson fell to the turf without being touched and was in agony as trainers evaluated his injury.
He was originally helped off the field by two team trainers, but after further evaluations in the sideline injury tent he was able to walk himself to the K-State locker room, which was viewed as a good sign for his long-term injury status. Teammates also said he was in mobile and in good spirits after the game, as he remained at the stadium to congratulate them on winning without him.
The idea of losing Thompson early on in another season was hard to swallow.
K-State players clearly had a hard time focusing on the Southern Illinois in the aftermath of his injury.
“It was gut-wrenching,” Vaughn said. “It was a play where I saw him go down in my peripheral, so when I turned around and saw him on his back squirming in agony it was pretty tough. My prayers are up for him. I talked to him after the game, and I’m just hoping for the best.”
“I’m heartbroken for Skylar,” added Howard.
Still, K-State players held out hope that Thompson would be able to recover from his injury in a short amount of time. That now appears to be the case.
This story was originally published September 12, 2021 at 8:26 PM with the headline "K-State QB Skylar Thompson expected to play again this season after scary knee injury."