Jake Rubley looks like Kansas State’s backup QB, but Avery Johnson looks good in camp
Will Howard is an unquestioned starter for Kansas State at quarterback, but that hasn’t stopped a competitive battle from taking place at his position during training camp.
Who will serve as his primary backup this season? That question has been asked by many a Wildcat fan since preseason practices began earlier this month.
The debate comes down to Jake Rubley and Avery Johnson. One of them (Rubley) is a former four-star recruit who is working to continue his rise up the depth chart as a redshirt sophomore. The other (Johnson) is a talented freshman who made dazzling plays with both his arms and his legs during a sensational high school career at Maize.
For now, it seems as if Rubley is in the lead and will likely start the season as QB2. On Monday, K-State offensive coordinator Collin Klein said Rubley was ahead of Johnson in practice. But that doesn’t mean he is guaranteed to stay in the lead throughout the fall.
Klein is proud of the way Rubley has played in training camp. Still, he would rather have three quality quarterbacks than just two.
“I think he has had his best camp since he has been here,” Klein said of Rubley. “I think he is really growing and has grown with his understanding of the offense. He is battling with Avery there, because anymore it’s not about a depth chart. It’s about having true depth to be able to play heaven forbid anything happens.”
It’s easy to see why Rubley has an advantage in the QB competition. As a redshirt sophomore, he has much more experience at the college level than Johnson. Last season, he was thrust into action in four games and he completed four passes for 42 yards. His only misfire came on an interception against TCU. He also ran for six yards.
Rubley appears ready to build on that, if he is called upon this season. He has been the No. 2 quarterback throughout the first two weeks of training camp, and he has looked sharp as a passer.
“Jake has just gotten better every year since he has been here,” Howard said. “You can tell the game is slowing down for him. He has always been able to make really good throws. It’s more the decision making, and he is continuing to make strides in that.”
K-State clearly likes what it has in Rubley in the short term. But the Wildcats may be even more excited about what they have in Johnson, because of his tantalizing potential in the long-term.
Johnson is so fast that everyone on the team holds their breath when he decides to scramble and make plays with his legs.
“He’s an incredible athlete,” Howard said. “He makes some crazy plays and crazy throws and obviously he’s about as athletic as they come. Anytime that dude scrambles I feel like I’m telling Coach (Chris) Klieman, ‘That’s a touchdown right there. Nobody is touching him.’ He has been really impressive and he has done some really good things. The future of K-State football is going to be in good hands.”
Klein was asked if he would prefer to redshirt Johnson this season, and limit his usage to no more than four games.
Even though that would be an ideal scenario, he said he has witnessed too many crazy situations in college football to project anything. His goal is to get Johnson ready to play as soon as possible. From there, the Wildcats will get him on the field when it makes sense to do so, even if he starts out this year with the third string.
“It’s pretty amazing to watch a true freshman work as hard as he has to put himself in a position to truly run the offense and compete,” Klein said. “He has done a tremendous job with that and he hasn’t been overwhelmed. He has really done some nice things throwing and running the football in our offense. So we are really excited about that.”