K-State Q&A: Avery Johnson, Jayce Brown + a Wildcat offense that’s finally healthy
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- K-State offense regains key receivers and skill players, raising scoring ceiling.
- Baylor offense tests K-State defense, exploiting yards and touchdown production.
- Injury reports lack transparency; coaches follow rules while limiting fan insight.
It’s time for another K-State Q&A.
No need for an elaborate intro this week. So let’s dive right into your questions about the Wildcats. Thanks, as always, for providing them.
On a scale of 1-10, how much will Avery Johnson and the Kansas State offense cook if the Wildcats have Dylan Edwards, Jayce Brown, Jaron Tibbs and Jerand Bradley all healthy against Baylor on Saturday? -Andrew B. via e-mail.
Let’s just say it will be hot in the kitchen if the Wildcats have their full assortment of skill players ready to go in Waco.
I am hesitant to put an exact number on it, because we haven’t seen the K-State offense at 100% all season. Dylan Edwards was limited to a handful of snaps against Iowa State and Arizona. He didn’t play at all against North Dakota and Army.
Jerand Bradley hasn’t played since the Army game. Jayce Brown was only on the field for a few plays against UCF.
One more name to add: Linkon Cure. He is also now healthy.
Not having all those players at the same time could explain at least some of Kansas State’s early struggles. Now they all appear to be ready to go.
Put all those names together and the K-State offense could absolutely cook against a Baylor defense that allowed 415 yards to Auburn, 458 yards to SMU, 400 yards to Arizona State and 448 yards to Oklahoma State.
Problem is, the Bears should cook right back.
Baylor piled up 612 yards against Oklahoma State, 357 yards against Arizona State, 601 yards against SMU and 483 yards against Auburn.
Sawyer Robertson leads the nation in both passing yards (1,713) and passing touchdowns (17).
That is not great news for a K-State defense that is allowing 362.6 yards and 25.2 points per game.
If our injured receivers do not play, should we expect more of the Blake Barnett packages? -@bfullingt1 via X.
Chris Klieman said the Wildcats created a set of plays for backup quarterback Blake Barnett because they wanted to give the running game a boost if Dylan Edwards remained on the sideline.
With that in mind, I’m not sure how much Blake Barnett would help the offense if K-State is at less than full strength at wide receiver.
The best way to use Barnett moving forward would be for him to get the ball to Avery Johnson so K-State can set up a double pass. They tried a similar play last week with Linkon Cure, but he threw an interception into double coverage. It was a good idea with bad execution. Putting Blake and Johnson on the field together could lead to better results.
It might be tempting to use Barnett out of a wildcat formation in future games. But let’s remember that K-State didn’t go back to that well very often after Johnson dismantled Texas Tech on the ground as a freshman.
I’m not sure how much more we see of the Barnett package this season. But he certainly gives the defense something extra to think about.
Is George Fitzpatrick done for the season? -@NickJGay via X.
Not necessarily.
Ohio State transfer George Fitzpatrick hasn’t practiced with the Wildcats since he suffered a medical scare back in the preseason. So he might not be able to play for K-State in any games this season. But Chris Klieman has said that there is a chance that the offensive lineman will return to action at some point this month or next.
My advice to K-State fans would be to treat that scenario as a bonus. But don’t expect it.
When a player is sidelined from games and practice for this long, his chances of returning to action aren’t the best. If it happens, great. If not, at least he’s healthy.
It is too bad we didn’t get to see Fitzpatrick play a full season, though. He was projected to start at left tackle, and he could have made a big difference as a blocker on the front five.
Can you explain why Chris Klieman said Jayce Brown was dealing with injuries last week, but he never appeared on the pregame injury reports? -@Nelson_J_316 via X.
This is a good question.
Honestly, more college football fans should be curious for an answer on this topic. I say that, because the “availability reports” that the Big 12 shares before conference games are not the same as the “injury reports” we are all accustomed to in the NFL.
College football teams like K-State are under no obligation to share injury information about their players. They are also not required to say if their players are practicing or not. They are simply asked to state whether a player is probable, questionable, doubtful or out for an upcoming game.
So a player like Jayce Brown can spend a week practicing at less than 100%, but his team is not required to publicize that information so long as he intends to play in the upcoming game.
It stinks for fans who tune into the action and expect a big showing from Kansas State’s top wide receiver only to see him leave after just a few snaps. You could certainly argue that the Wildcats violated the spirit of the Big 12’s availability reports by not listing Brown.
They could have at least listed him as “probable,” right? That is what they did this week.
Still, K-State technically followed the rules. A player can be on crutches all week and avoid the availability reports as long as he ends up in the starting lineup.
We also saw this with Utah quarterback Devon Dampier earlier this season. He was too injured to practice leading up to a game with Texas Tech, but he was bound and determined to start under center. So Dampier was never listed on any of the availability reports.
We are seeing some early gamesmanship with these availability reports. So they haven’t been perfect. But they are a nice step in the right direction compared to the past when very little information was shared publicly.
How long until we see lavender on a K-State football uniform? -@garrettb_1983 via X.
You might have to wait for a new athletic director and a new head coach for that one.
Gene Taylor has said that lavender is exclusively a men’s basketball color. So it seems unlikely that the football team will start using it on his watch. He has also voiced his disdain for black uniforms. So I wouldn’t hold my breath on those, either.
Furthermore, Chris Klieman seems awful superstitious when it comes to alternate uniforms. I’m not sure he has it in him to go any crazier than white helmets and white pants.
From afar, it also seems like Nike is losing interest in college sports. Penn State and Tennessee are both switching to Adidas. And we aren’t seeing a ton of fun new designs from Nike unless we’re talking about Oregon. Maybe I’m wrong on that, but Nike seems more focused on pro sports at the moment.
Personally, I would love to see an all-purple uniform that resembles some of the Color Rush styles we have seen in the NFL.
Maybe one day we will see those or lavender at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
Whatever happened to the jump pass over the middle to the tight end that Bill Snyder perfected? Such a devastating play when the QB pretends he’s going to keep it up the middle, but then pulls up and floats one over everyone to the TE in the endzone -@NoWayHiWay1 via X.
Hey, it is a great play.
If I remember correctly, Avery Johnson has thrown at least one touchdown to a tight end with that kind of play during his time as Kansas State’s quarterback.
Why doesn’t K-State call that play more often? Well, it seems like the Wildcats like to keep defenses off balance when it comes to plays for their tight ends in the end zone. Case in point: Will Anciaux was wide open in the end zone on a delayed pass from Johnson last week against UCF. Later in that same game, Johnson tossed a shovel pass to Garrett Oakley for another easy score.
K-State has many great touchdown plays for its tight ends. Not just one.
What’s the best barbecue joint in Waco? -Andrew B. via e-mail.
My favorite is Terry Black’s. They also have locations in Austin, Dallas, Lockhart and Fort Worth. So you can find one of their restaurants no matter how you travel to Texas for the game.
The brisket is to-die-for. But the pork ribs and jalapeno cheese sausage are also incredible. You really can’t go wrong with anything on the menu. Chase it with a Love Street or a Lone Star or a Shiner and thank me later.
Vitek’s BBQ is also a popular spot.
You didn’t ask, but Ninfa’s is the place to try for Mexican food.
It’s kind of wild I have this many food recommendations for Waco. I guess that is what happens after all these years on a Big 12 beat.
This story was originally published October 3, 2025 at 6:00 AM with the headline "K-State Q&A: Avery Johnson, Jayce Brown + a Wildcat offense that’s finally healthy."