Avery Johnson’s health is probably the most important factor for 2024.
Avery Johnson will be the starting quarterback for Kansas State in 2024, and we could probably just end this preview right here, right?
But that would be the easy way out.
Johnson’s talent has been apparent since the first time he set foot on the field; the first five plays of his career that weren’t handoffs to running backs were runs for 5 and 15 yards, completed passes for 16 and 24 yards, and then a seven-yard touchdown run. He led K-State to a 38-21 win over Texas Tech, running for five touchdowns. He won the Pop-Tarts Bowl after Will Howard opted out to enter the transfer portal.
And why did Howard transfer? Because he was very likely to not be the starter in 2024, leading us to a world where the Ohio State Buckeyes, of all teams, will be starting a guy who was probably going to lose his job.
Think about that.
There are still questions about Johnson, but all reports say his arm and reads aren’t the issue. Johnson was only 14-31 for 178 yards in the bowl game, but he was without Phillip Brooks and Ben Sinnott on short notice and K-State was mostly relying on the run anyway. (Johnson and DJ Giddens combined for 222 yards on the ground, after all.)
Anyway, the excitement over a full season of Johnson, with absolutely nobody challenging him for the starting job, is palpable.
Of course, quarterbacks at K-State have a tendency to get banged up, especially if they’re run-happy. So we need to consider the question of who it is that isn’t challenging Johnson for the starting job. The answer, according to the initial depth chart, is a big ol’ shrug.
Johnson’s immediate backup is either Minnesota transfer Jacob Knuth, a sophomore who was the best player in all of South Dakota as a senior in high school, or Connecticut transfer Ta’Quan Roberson, who’s on his third team after starting out at Penn State back in 2019. Roberson was the starter for UConn in both 2022 and 2023. His 2022 season ended on day one when he was injured against Utah State, but he survived 2023 and threw for over 2,000 yards.
Behind those two, “another best player in the state” lurks in freshman Blake Barnett, the best prep player in Colorado in 2023 and the seventh-best dual threat quarterback in last year’s class according to Rivals. Barnett blew away Christian McCaffery’s state record for touchdowns, racking up 159 — 18 more than the 49er running back. He’s got a lot of promise. In three years, Barnett threw for almost 8,000 yards and ran for nearly 3.500. The wise play here is to let Barnett cook on the bench this year; with a redshirt, he might have three years of starting in Manhattan if Johnson has nothing left to prove after next year.
The final member of the quarterback room is freshman Hudson Hutcheson, who was hustled out from under Texas Tech somehow. Hutcheson threw for over 8,000 yards in his two seasons as a starter in high school, adding nearly a thousand yards and 18 touchdowns with his legs.
This year is going to be a wild ride if Johnson can stay healthy. Whether it will ultimately be a successful season depends on how well Johnson has grasped the passing game, how well he connects with the receivers room, and how well the receivers themselves play. The Cats are going to need to avoid a situation where the only question offensively is who’s carrying the ball.