QB uncertainty lingers for Kansas State as Texas Tech week begins

Texas Tech football coach Kliff Kingsbury doesn’t know who Kansas State will start at quarterback against the Red Raiders on Saturday, and he isn’t going to waste energy trying to find out.

Instead, he will ask his defense to prepare for three different K-State passers -- Jesse Ertz, Alex Delton and Skylar Thompson.

“You have to be ready for any of the three,” Kingsbury said Monday on the Big 12 teleconference. “I don’t think we will know until Saturday in pregame warm-ups who the starter is going to be. They each have a different skill set, and all three have been effective in scoring points. Kansas State does what they do. I think each one of those guys is talented and brings their own unique talent to that offense.”

Early signs point toward Alex Delton starting his fourth straight game at quarterback for the Wildcats, but nothing is certain.

Delton, a sophomore from Hays, missed the second half of K-State’s 30-20 victory at Kansas after absorbing a hard hit to the helmet, making way for redshirt freshman Skylar Thompson to close out the game.

K-State coach Bill Snyder said Delton was feeling “fine” and “doing well” Monday morning. He also said senior Jesse Ertz was a candidate to return against Texas Tech after missing the past three games with a knee injury, refuting rumors that he might be out for the remainder of the season.

“Jesse is going to play again,” Snyder said.

When asked if Ertz will start against Texas Tech, Snyder said: “We’re hoping so and planning on it.” Ertz was not on the sideline for recent games against Oklahoma and Kansas.

“It’s a day-by-day thing, and he will be back on the field, at least that’s certainly my understanding, unless something happened overnight that I’m unaware of,” Snyder said. “But, yes, he should be back on the field. Just how quickly, it remains to be seen.”

If Delton and Ertz are both unable to play, that would put Thompson in line to start his first college game. The former record-setting Fort Osage (Mo.) standout has seen action in four games this season, but played his first meaningful snaps against the Jayhawks.

Thompson entered with K-State leading 10-6 and helped the Wildcats win on the road by completing 4 of 6 passes for 40 yards and rushing for 39 yards on 10 carries.

The offense leaned on its running game, particularly Alex Barnes, to close out the game. Thompson arguably has the best arm on the team, but he lacks experience.

Still, his teammates see a bright future ahead of him.

“When you have a quarterback like Skylar, who can throw the way he does,” Barnes said, “special things will come.”

Snyder is also confident in Thompson.

“I was pleased with his poise in the course of the ballgame, and consequently because of that he managed the ballgame quite well,” Snyder said. “I thought he threw the ball fine and ran the ball when he had to. Maybe not quite as prolific as Alex might, but nevertheless ran it reasonably well. I was very pleased with his first-time performance.”

Player of the Week

Junior defensive back D.J. Reed was named Big 12 special teams player of the week on Monday. He has received the honor twice this season.

Reed returned a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown against Kansas on his way to 189 total return yards in the game. His 189 return yards are the most in the Big 12 this season.

Afternoon kick for West Virginia

K-State and West Virginia are set for a 2:30 p.m. kickoff on Nov. 11 at Snyder Family Stadium. The game will be televised on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU.

This story was originally published October 30, 2017 at 1:04 PM with the headline "QB uncertainty lingers for Kansas State as Texas Tech week begins."