A star is born as Avery Johnson leads Kansas State past Texas Tech with monster game

Avery Johnson has been at Kansas State for such a short time that he is only a few months removed from high school. As a freshman quarterback, he has only appeared in three games and is still waiting to make his first college start.

In other words, he hasn’t had much time to make an impact for the Wildcats.

But his name can already be found in the program’s record books.

K-State fans will tell you that a star was born during a 38-21 victory over Texas Tech on Saturday at Jones AT&T Stadium. Johnson, who openly admits it has been a challenge for him to read Big 12 defenses less than a year removed from 5A football at Maize High, looked like a future All-American while rushing for 90 yards and five touchdowns against the Red Raiders.

No freshman in K-State history has scored more touchdowns in a game. Only two other players have matched Johnson with five in a single game — Collin Klein and Jonathan Beasley.

And K-State coach Chris Klieman was quick to point out that Klein didn’t have his monster game as a true freshman.

“Very impressive, but he’s not really a true freshman,” Klieman said of Johnson. “He was here in the spring and he’s got a calmness. He’s got a demeanor to him. He’s got a competitiveness. When we recruited him, that was the number one thing that jumped out at me about Avery: ... how competitive he was, in every sport, in every game that he plays, in everything. So when I have that kind of competitor, the moment is probably never going to be too big.”

A blackout crowd of 56,200 did nothing to faze him. Neither did the importance of Saturday’s game. This had the feel of a season-defining game for the Wildcats (4-2, 2-1 Big 12). Their trajectory looks bright at the moment with home games against TCU and Houston on deck. But some would have been hitting the proverbial panic button following a loss.

K-State found a way to erase a 21-17 deficit and pull away from Texas Tech thanks mostly to Johnson.

He provided a much-needed spark for the Wildcats on offense and took pressure off the shoulders of starter Will Howard, who has struggled mightily with turnovers this season. Klieman inserted Johnson into the game midway through the first quarter. Johnson was so good that he led the offense for most of the second half.

It was easy to see why.

So dominant was Johnson that K-State averaged an incredible 2.3 points — 30 points on 13 carries — every time he ran the ball.

“That was amazing to see,” K-State offensive lineman Cooper Beebe said. “We didn’t know what his role was going to be this week, but he came in and executed. Just to see him ball out is so fun and such a good feeling, especially when you’re an offensive lineman and you see your quarterback run for five touchdowns. It’s just great.”

K-State running back Treshaun Ward said Johnson made things easy for everyone.

“Five touchdowns from a true freshman,” Ward said. “That kid is nice. He has been doing that all the time in practice. Now he’s playing full speed and then he ultimately came out here and did it today. Man, it was unbelievable.”

Johnson tried his best to stay humble after his monster performance.

There is a chance he will take over as the starting quarterback moving forward. Klieman said the QB depth chart will be discussed each week from now on, before also saying that the Wildcats will need both Howard and Johnson to keep winning. But Johnson didn’t spend any time talking about the future.

He thanked Howard for being his biggest supporter and helping him on the sideline between drives. He gave credit to tight end Ben Sinnott for throwing not one but two incredible blocks on his second touchdown of the evening. And he pointed out how K-State coaches and teammates prepared him for this moment.

“Really it’s just everybody here believing in me,” Johnson said. “I chose K-State a while back, and it was really just because of the connections and family that we have here. So just being able to go out and play for my brothers and to be able to perform that highly is great.”

Klieman said the plan was for Johnson to play at least a little bit against Texas Tech, because the Red Raiders have struggled to stop QB runs against the Wildcats in recent seasons. They thought that was something they could once again exploit.

For a while, K-State juggled between two quarterbacks. But Texas Tech could do so little to stop Johnson that the coaching staff handed the keys to the offense to Johnson, even letting him complete 8 of 9 passes for 77 yards.

“They just kept giving us the same look,” Klieman said. “So we decided to play (Johnson) a little bit more because he was in a good rhythm and the offense was in a good rhythm. Then, because of his ability to stretch the field with his with his speed and legs, it opened up a lot of things for Treshaun Ward. I thought they made our offense really good tonight.”

Here’s the craziest thing about Johnson’s breakout game: It could have been even better.

On his final run of the night, Johnson beat Texas Tech’s defense to the edge and saw nothing but green turf in front of him. A record-setting sixth touchdown was there for the taking. So much so that Johnson said he could have walked in. But K-State coaches instructed him to take a knee so the Wildcats could run out the clock.

Some freshmen would have prioritized personal glory in that situation. Not Johnson.

He wanted to make the smart play. He will happily do it again, so long as it means that his team wins.

Johnson will get many more opportunities. Remember, this is still new for him no matter what the record books say.