Kansas State football hopes to have Adrian Martinez available as Will Howard's backup

MANHATTAN — If Adrian Martinez's injury woes over the last half of this football season have done nothing else, they've helped establish Will Howard as the Kansas State starting quarterback for the moment.

Howard, who struggled as a fill-in the two previous years behind Skylar Thompson, has been a godsend for the Wildcats in Martinez's absence and will make his third straight start Saturday against TCU in the Big 12 championship game. That much is certain.

But as Martinez recovers from his latest injury, suffered in the first quarter of K-State's 31-3 victory three weeks ago at Baylor, the question becomes how, or if, the Wildcats will use him the rest of the way.

Martinez did not suit up the past two weeks, but was on the sideline, wearing a walking boot on his right foot.

"Will is going to be the guy, and Adrian has helped us get to this point, without question, because of his body of work that he's done in the first half of the season," said K-State coach Chris Klieman on Tuesday during his weekly news conference. "Yeah, there's an outside chance that he could be available this week.

"We'll learn probably more Wednesday and Thursday. If he is, Will will be the guy, but we've got to have a package or something for Adrian, just because of the unique skill set that he does have."

More:Kansas State football's Felix Anudike-Uzomah named Big 12 defensive player of the year

While Howard has been the more accomplished passer, averaging 244.8 yards per game with 13 touchdowns and just two interceptions, Martinez has rushed for 615 yards and a team-high 10 scores in his nine games, two of which he played roughly one quarter total. He is a fast and elusive runner when healthy, which adds another dimension to the Wildcats' run game.

But K-State's offense has operated more smoothly with Howard behind center, averaging nearly 48 points in his three starts against Oklahoma State, at West Virginia and last Saturday's 47-27 victory over Kansas. In a regular-season loss at TCU, he came on for Martinez after one series and led the Wildcats to four first-half touchdowns.

No. 3-ranked TCU (12-0, 9-0 Big 12) staged a second-half comeback to beat K-State, 38-28, in their first meeting on Oct. 22, and are essentially playing for a spot in the College Football Playoff. The Wildcats (9-3) won their last three regular-season games to finish second in the league at 7-2.

Martinez, a former four-year starter at Nebraska, was voted a team captain before the start of the season and has remained engaged throughout his recovery.

More:Time is of the essence for No. 10 Kansas State football with morning kickoff against No. 3 TCU

"Adrian Martinez, as far as what he did up to the point where he got injured, which is phenomenal, but the testament to him and who he is to this point is just incredible," said senior center Hayden Gillum. "You see him on the sidelines, cheering guys on. He came up to me before the last game and it's just like, 'I'm going to be the biggest cheerleader today.'

"And to have a guy like Adrian, and the playing experience and the competitor that he is, you know it's tough for him to sit there and watch and not be able to be a part of it. But he's more than a part of it. We wouldn't be here without what Adrian did for us early in the season and he still continues to be a leader that people look up to, even though he's not playing right now."

No one has appreciated Martinez's contributions more than Howard.

"I can't say enough good things about him and what he's done and what he's meant for me and for this team," Howard said. "He's a captain of this football team, and he earned that, and he's just been an awesome guy, and a really good football mind, and someone that I can come off the field and bounce ideas off of and can say, 'Hey, what did you see right here?'

"Because he gets it. He was out there, and he's been in the fire. He knows kind of what I'm feeling, what I'm thinking, outside of just X's and O's. So just having a guy like that, who's also a really good friend of mine, to be able to do that with him is really cool."

More:Kansas State football's victory over Kansas brought a sense of satisfaction and much more

If something happens to Howard and Martinez is unavailable, redshirt freshman Jake Rubley and junior Jaren Lewis will serve as backups. Rubley has seen limited action this season and Lewis played some last year when Thompson was out and Howard struggled, but neither can match Martinez's experience.

"I don't know how many reps he's going to be able to get," Klieman said of Martinez. "We hope he can get some (Wednesday).

"It's going to be a day-by-day process, but I do know this, the kid is chomping at the bit to be available, and we'll see where it's at.

"We will maybe not know until Saturday. But it's not like we don't know who's playing. We know Will Howard is going to play. And if Adrian can give it a go, if we need him in a situation, whatever that situation is, and can use him and it's safe to use him, we would use him."

Arne Green is based in Salina and covers Kansas State University sports for the Gannett network. He can be reached at agreen@gannett.com or on Twitter at @arnegreen.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: K-State hopes to have Adrian Martinez available as backup on Saturday