Kansas State football is enjoying a healthy competition for the backup quarterback job

MANHATTAN — A mass exodus at quarterback last December helped clear the path for freshman phenom Avery Johnson to take over as Kansas State football’s starting quarterback.

But the departure of veteran starter Will Howard and a pair of backups before the Pop-Tarts Bowl also created a whole new problem. Forget for a minute that Johnson seamlessly stepped in and helped guide the Wildcats to a 28-19 victory over North Carolina State while also picking up most valuable player honors.

He had no choice.

With Howard moving on to Ohio State, where he now is the presumptive starter, and Jake Rubley and Adryan Lara also hitting the transfer portal, Johnson was the only quarterback left on the roster who had taken a college snap. Jacob Knuth, a redshirt freshman who transferred in from Minnesota as a walk-on, never even ran the Wildcat offense as he worked exclusively with the scout team.

Related: Kansas State football quarterback Avery Johnson embraces leadership role at a young age

Kansas State quarterback Ta’Quan Roberson (5) is a graduate transfer from UConn who joined the Wildcats over the summer.

Kansas State sophomore quarterback Jacob Knuth (7) redshirted last year after transferring from Minnesota.

The same was true during the spring, when Knuth and true freshman Blake Barnett were the backups, making it all the more urgent for K-State to add an experienced quarterback to the mix. The Wildcats did just that by bringing in Connecticut graduate transfer Ta’Quan Roberson, who had a combined 11 career starts with the Huskies and Penn State.

Fast forward to preseason camp, and the outlook for QB2 is much brighter. While Roberson continues to learn the offense, Knuth has taken a big step forward, and there is a genuine competition for the backup job.

“It’s been good,” head coach Chris Klieman said at the start of camp. “Ta’Quan…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/kansas-state-football-enjoying-healthy-080320101.html

Author : The Topeka Capital-Journal

Publish date : 2024-08-17 08:03:20

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