The Reason Kansas State Held Back With Avery Johnson This Season

Nov 23, 2024; Manhattan, Kansas, USA; Kansas State Wildcats quarterback Avery Johnson (2) is chased by Cincinnati Bearcats defensive back Josh Minkins (0) during the first quarter at Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Sewell-Imagn Images | Scott Sewell-Imagn Images

Kansas State sophomore Avery Johnson was billed as a dual threat quarterback since high school.

In his first full season as the starter, Johnson never showcased his running ability until last week's win against Cincinnati. Coach Chris Klieman revealed the reason why during this week by saying Johnson was dealing with an early-season undisclosed injury.

"We've talked about this a few times," Klieman said. "When you don't have a healthy quarterback, you need to be smart and not run him so much."

The issues began shortly after the Colorado victory in mid-October.

"There was a stretch there after Colorado he was not healthy," Klieman said. "It's known that he wasn't healthy. Everybody wants, `why are you aren't running him?' We can't get him hurt, either. We can't have him out so we were probably a little smart with him to protect him. 

Johnson has ran for 484 yards and five touchdowns this season but had a breakout against the Bearcats. He finished with 72 yards on 10 carriers and one score.

"When he's healthy, we're really good on offense," Klieman said. " When you can pull the football, design runs or read runs and you have to expand the field and not shrink it, boy that opens up the run game with [running back DJ Giddens] quite a bit. Then all of a sudden it opens  up some of the playaction shots." 

Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Kansas State Wildcats On SI. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com

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