Why Avery Johnson is ready to ‘run the show’ as Kansas State’s starting quarterback
Kansas State football coach Chris Klieman doesn’t sound all that different from a purple-clad fan when you ask him about his preseason expectations for Avery Johnson.
His plan for Game 1 is simple: stay out of the way and cheer on Johnson as the sophomore quarterback makes big plays for the Wildcats against Tennessee-Martin.
“I’m not worried about how I manage things,” Klieman said. “Cut the kid loose, let him go play. The kid is really good, so I’m not managing anything. I’m going to encourage him, tell him I love him, tell him how much I believe in him and then go play: ’Go do what you do. You’ve been waiting for this opportunity.’
“He’ll make plays within himself. Man, I’m as excited as you guys are.”
A high level of anticipation will certainly surround Johnson when he takes the field at 6 p.m. Saturday inside Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
Even though Johnson hasn’t started a single regular-season game at quarterback, he enters the 2024 campaign as a darkhorse contender for the Heisman Trophy in the eyes of some experts and oddsmakers. He currently has the 11th-shortest odds of any college football player to win the award, per BetMGM.
It seems like everyone is expecting huge things from Johnson after he showed off his dual-threat skills last season, mostly as a backup behind Will Howard. He completed 37 of 66 passes for 479 yards and five touchdowns to go along with 296 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground.
He capped his freshman season by winning MVP honors at the Pop-Tarts Bowl.
Now, even more is expected. No one is stepping up to suggest otherwise.
“We all know the four-star or five-star player that shows up and doesn’t work,” K-State right tackle Carver Willis said. “He shows up and is like, ‘Oh, I don’t have to work because I’m this talented.’ Thankfully, Avery shows up. He is that talented but he also goes, ‘No, I’m going to work on top of it.’ The respect he’s earned in the locker room for things like that allows him to lead in the capacity he does.”
Some might expect Johnson to be nervous as he takes the field for the first time and hears his name announced to a sellout crowd as Kansas State’s starting quarterback.
But he doesn’t think that will be the case.
“I have prepared for this moment my whole life,” Johnson said. “If I wasn’t prepared then there would probably be some nerves there. But I’m just super blessed to be able to go out there and play the game that I love and be able to play at a school like Kansas State, where the fans have so much support. I don’t feel like there’s any pressure. I’m just going to go out there and do what I’ve been doing my whole life, which is having fun playing the game.”
If Klieman decides to give Johnson a pep talk before kickoff, he knows what he will say.
No X’s or O’s will be necessary.
“Just be himself,” Klieman said. “We have a lot of guys around him that can make plays at all those different skill positions. I don’t think he’s going to be nervous. That’s just not his nature. I think he’s going to be very confident. But we just want him to play within himself and make the plays that he’s capable of making.
“We know he’s going to make a few that are going to be kind of off script, because that’s what he excels at. But I’m excited to see him run the show.”
This story was originally published August 27, 2024 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Why Avery Johnson is ready to ‘run the show’ as Kansas State’s starting quarterback."