Kansas State QB Avery Johnson ruled out for game at Arizona State
· Yahoo Sports
MANHATTAN — Kansas State quarterback Avery Johnson has been ruled out for the Wildcats' game at Arizona State.
Visit iwanktv.club for more information.
It will be the first game Johnson has missed in his three seasons as a starter. The Wildcats play the Sun Devils on Saturday, Oct. 24, at 2:45 p.m. CT in Tempe, Arizona.
Multiple national reports on Saturday morning said Johnson would miss the game after he was downgraded to "doubtful" in the team's Friday night availability report. Kansas State's pregame radio show confirmed that Johnson won't play.
Backup Jacob Knuth will start. The fifth-year player entered the season having appeared in four games across three seasons in Manhattan.
Johnson's status has been in question since he surprisingly appeared on the Wildcats' initial availability report on Wednesday night. His official diagnosis remains a mystery, but he missed one play early in the first quarter of the Wildcats' win over Kansas last week after stumbling to the turf at the end of a long run. He returned the following drive and played the remainder of the game without any signs of injury.
This will be the first time the Wildcats will be forced to start a backup quarterback since the 2023 Pop-Tarts Bowl, when Johnson made his first career start after Will Howard entered the transfer portal.
How did Avery Johnson get hurt?
Though it's unclear what Johnson is dealing with, he notably left the Wildcats for one play during their Oct. 17 win over Kansas. After a 59-yard run in the first quarter, Johnson fell awkwardly to the turf and was slow to get up. He was pulled up by both arms, and he walked to the sideline where he smiled and joked with teammates.
After missing one play, he returned to the huddle and played the rest of the game with no noticeable injury. He finished 14 of 24 for 209 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 132 yards.
"I just got the wind knocked out of me," Johnson said on Oct. 17 when he was asked if he was injured on the play. "I don't know if I can answer that or not, so I'm just going to say no."
Johnson later alluded to shoulder soreness in his postgame interview, but said it came from walking around the stadium and giving fans high-fives after the game.
What has Collin Klein said about Avery Johnson's status?
Klein didn't hint at the possibility of being without his quarterback during his usual Monday presser. He also didn't address, and wasn't asked about, any injury concerns regarding his quarterback on his weekly radio show on Wednesday, ahead of the initial report.
Possibly of note, reporters were asked to arrive through different doors ahead of the Monday media availability, keeping them away from the Bill Snyder Family Stadium concourse and preventing them from seeing who or what was on the field. That may have been to avoid spoiling the surprise of K-State's alternate helmets it will wear against the Sun Devils this week.
Who would Kansas State's quarterback be if Avery Johnson doesn't play?
Knuth, who handed the ball off to Rodney Fields for a four-yard touchdown on the one play Johnson missed against Kansas, appears to be the man. Knuth is a fifth-year player who entered this season having appeared in four games across three seasons in Manhattan.
This year, he's played snaps against Nicholls, Washington State and Kansas, completing one pass for seven yards, along with three rushes for 25 yards and a score.
Every Kansas State quarterback has dealt with some sort of injury this season. Blake Barnett has been on crutches since the Wildcats' Week 1 win over Nicholls. Until this week, sophomore Dillon Duff has appeared on the injury report each week since the Wildcats' Sept. 26 loss at Cincinnati, after not dressing for the first three games. Duff's mobility could still be limited.
Wyatt D. Wheeler covers Kansas State athletics for the USA TODAY Network and Topeka Capital-Journal. You can follow him on X at @WyattWheeler_, contact him at 417-371-6987 or email him at [email protected]
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas State QB Avery Johnson ruled out for game at Arizona State