Why Keagan Johnson thinks he can be ‘explosive weapon’ for K-State after leaving Iowa
Keagan Johnson was careful not to say anything bad about his former school when the Iowa transfer spoke to reporters for the first time since he enrolled at Kansas State and joined the Wildcats as a wide receiver, but it is obvious that he thinks he is stepping into a more powerful offense than the one he left behind.
Statistics back him up.
Iowa averaged 251.6 yards per game last season, a number so low that it ranked ahead of only one team in all of college football — New Mexico. By comparison, K-State put up 418.8 yards per game on its way to 10 victories and a Big 12 championship.
There is no comparison between the two systems and Johnson is giddy about his potential with his new team.
“I think I can provide an explosive weapon,” Johnson said, “and be a big-play type talent.”
Johnson came to that conclusion while he watched K-State defeat TCU in the Big 12 championship game last December. The 6-foot-1 and 194-pound playmaker liked the way the Wildcats used Malik Knowles as both a receiver and a ball-carrier out of the backfield on gadget plays.
Now that Knowles is off to the professional ranks, Johnson thinks he can replace his skills next season — and maybe even do more while playing under offensive coordinator Collin Klein.
“I really liked their trajectory and the way that Coach Klein has added new things,” Johnson said. “They have a lot of different, creative ways to get their playmakers the ball and it’s really appealing to me.”
The possibility of taking over as K-State’s new No. 1 receiver or its top deep threat was one of the main attractions that drew him to Manhattan.
He also strongly considered K-State as a high school recruit coming out of Bellevue, Nebraska. So the Wildcats were on his radar when he decided to transfer. He also heard from Nebraska and Notre Dame when he entered the transfer portal, but K-State coaches showed him so much love that he committed to the Wildcats almost immediately.
“I wouldn’t say I will have necessarily have the same exact role as Malik,” Johnson said. “But knowing that he was a good amount of their production and the offense, I knew they needed a guy that would come in and fill that production. I felt like I could be that guy.”
Johnson will hope to revive his once promising college football career with the Wildcats. As a freshman, he looked like a future star while hauling in 18 passes for 352 yards and two touchdowns. But he managed only two catches for 11 yards during an injury-plagued sophomore campaign.
He says he is now healthy and has been full-go since he moved to Manhattan. He feels great in the weight room and catching passes from starting quarterback Will Howard.
It’s clear Johnson thinks he is playing with a better QB now, too.
“What I like most is that he hasn’t tapped his potential,” Johnson said of Howard. “He is growing. I don’t think you guys have seen the best of Will Howard. That is definitely exciting. He works hand in hand with the wide receivers really well, too, and takes our input. I think that quarterback-receiver relationship is really important to having success.”