Why K-State freshman QB Jake Rubley is content to redshirt behind Skylar Thompson
Jake Rubley isn’t going to get the freshman experience he signed up for with the Kansas State football team.
But that’s OK.
It’s more than OK, actually. After the freshman quarterback fully contemplated his unexpected situation, he is now glad that longtime starter Skylar Thompson is returning for an extra season in command of the Wildcats’ offense. Sure, it means Rubley’s odds of starting immediately dropped close to zero. But it also opened up a few doors for him that he hadn’t previously considered walking through.
“I just looked at it in a positive way,” Rubley said. “Now I can redshirt and I can get a master’s degree at Kansas State. Hopefully I can learn off him because I know he’s going to be huge, learning off someone that old that has been a part of this offense for that long. So I think, actually, it’s going to help my game in the long run. Hopefully, when he graduates I can compete and hopefully I can get the starting job.”
Rubley imagined a different timeline when he committed to K-State as the first member of its 2021 recruiting class. No one expected him to be talking about using a redshirt less than a month on campus, himself included.
The former four-star recruit chose the Wildcats over a host of big-name programs expecting to compete with Will Howard for a starting job right away, as it appeared Thompson would be out of college eligibility by then. He said K-State football coach Chris Klieman promised him an “open competition.” But the coronavirus pandemic changed everyone’s plans.
Thompson was lost for the 2020 season after sustaining an upper-body injury that required surgery and months of rehab, which motivated him to take advantage of temporary NCAA eligibility rules that allow seniors to return for an extra year of college football.
It was the best decision for him and welcome news for the K-State football team, which suddenly has a surplus of quality options at quarterback.
But it forced Rubley to adjust his plans.
“My plan right now is to redshirt this year,” Rubley said, “so I get that fifth year.”
Some wondered if Thompson’s return for a sixth year might upset Rubley and potentially lead him to consider a transfer now or down the road. But he seems at peace with the outcome, even though it was a complete 180 degrees away from what he was expecting.
“It was difficult,” Rubley said. “I mean, it was a 180 but there have been a lot of 180s this year. I’m sure everyone in this interview had a 180 during COVID. So you just kind of weigh your options and go attack it with a different attitude.”
Besides, it’s not as if he won’t be play next season. Players are allowed to appear in as many as four games each season while preserving their redshirt status. So if Thompson stays healthy in 2021, that won’t stop the Wildcats from identifying creative ways to get Rubley on the field. There’s also the possibility he will be needed for more than four games and his plans could get changed once again.
One thing is for sure: Rubley is eager to play football again in any capacity. His senior year of high school football was filled with headaches. When his home state of Colorado announced plans to cancel fall sports during the pandemic, he moved to West Des Moines, Iowa and tried to play his final season of high school football there. That worked for a little while, but eligibility concerns surrounding his abrupt move left him ineligible after a few games.
So he spent his days working out with trainers and throwing to teammates in practice settings.
Now he is trying to learn Courtney Messingham’s offense and get a head start on spring practice. His work is unlikely to lead to a big role next season, but anything seems possible down the road.
That’s where his focus now lies.
“You have to take a step back and you have got to learn from (Thompson),” Rubley said. “Hopefully I can push him and I can compete against him and make him better while at the same time making me better. That is kind of my philosophy, and now I can get my master’s degree. A fifth year might be a blessing in a very, very long time.”
This story was originally published January 29, 2021 at 12:48 PM.