Football
If you’ve been paying attention to anything Big 12-related, you’ve seen that Kansas State has massive expectations for next season.
But that all depends on junior quarterback Avery Johnson. The Wildcats’ Big 12 title ambitions and postseason hopes are tied to how the signal-caller fares in his second season as a starter. Pro Football Focus heaped more preseason hype on Johnson, attributing his individual development to the team’s potential success.
“Johnson played a part-time role in 2023 before taking over as Kansas State’s starter this past season. His dual-threat abilities quickly became the foundation of the Wildcats’ offense, and he posted a solid 81.1 PFF overall grade in 2024. Given Kansas State’s solid run game and defense, Johnson should be able to keep the Wildcats in Big 12 contention, especially if he improves further as a passer.”
Last season, Johnson threw for 2,712 yards, 25 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. He also rushed for 605 yards and seven touchdowns, illustrating his dual-threat style. However, the passing numbers must improve to enter the upper echelon of college quarterbacks. The turnovers hurt the Wildcats in their four losses, and his reliance on play-action limited his downfield passing attack.
Luckily, Kansas State acquired some veteran weapons to help him on the perimeter, alleviating pressure off Jayce Brown as the sole weapon. They also added five-star recruit Linkon Cure to an already stacked tight end room.
Now, it’s on Johnson to elevate the Wildcats to new heights.
PRO FOOTBALL FOCUS CHALLENGES NATIONAL K-STATE NARRATIVES
To many outside observers, the bread-and-butter of Kansas State’s game plan is through the offense this season.
Pro Football Focus (PFF) somewhat disagrees. Many are skeptical about Kansas State’s defensive losses, especially in the secondary with Jacob Parrish and Marques Sigle departing to the NFL. However, PFF actually believes the defense will be the Wildcats’ strong suit in 2025.
“Kansas State has a top-10 linebacker unit in college football, headlined by a top-five linebacker in junior Austin Romaine,” the article wrote. “The Wildcats also added Arizona safety transfer Gunner Maldonado, who battled injuries this past season but earned a 77.1 PFF overall grade in 2023.”
The popular football site instead pegged the quarterback play as Kansas State’s biggest question mark, considering Avery Johnson was very raw as a passer in his first season. The Wildcats have made upgrades to the wide receiver position, but there is still uncertainty around what the final product will be.
“Avery Johnson is back at quarterback, but he ranked just 60th among FBS quarterbacks with in PFF passing grade (72.9) as a sophomore,” the article wrote. “The Wildcats also brought back their top receiver, Jayce Brown, but the team earned the fifth-worst PFF receiving grade in the Power Four last year (61.0).”
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