Chris Klieman expects long competition before Kansas State Wildcats name backup QB
No position on the Kansas State football roster has undergone more change in the past year than quarterback.
Avery Johnson is back and ready to become the face of the team as QB1, but everything else has changed.
Gone from last season are Will Howard, Jake Rubley, Adryan Lara and QB coach/offensive coordinator Collin Klein.
That means there are plenty of new arrivals. Over the past few months, K-State has brought in senior transfer Ta’Quan Roberson from Connecticut and freshman Blake Barnett to go along with new position coach Matt Wells. And even though he isn’t new to the team, the Wildcats have also promoted Jacob Knuth from the scout team to the main QB rotation.
There is a different vibe among the green shirts at training camp this summer.
Johnson appears to be thriving with his new support group. But what happens if the Wildcats need to rely on a backup quarterback this season? Who will they rely on as QB2 behind Johnson? That is one of the biggest questions that K-State is trying to answer this month.
Klieman is in no rush to name a backup. Right now, he likes what he’s seeing from both Roberson and Knuth.
“We’re not at all close to saying who is going to backup Avery,” Klieman said. “That is going to take quite a long time for us to get it figured out. But I have been impressed with both guys. Both guys could help us.”
One might assume that Roberson has an advantage in the position battle, seeing as how the Wildcats went out of their way to add him to the roster following the conclusion of spring practices.
It was obvious that K-State needed reinforcements at quarterback, and they brought in an experienced passer to help. The 6-foot and 200-pound quarterback began his college football career at Penn State and then transferred to UConn after only playing occasionally for the Nittany Lions.
Injuries prevented him from making an immediate impact with the Huskies, but he had some quality moments with them. He finished with 2,075 yards and 12 touchdowns while playing in 11 games last season.
Now he is trying to help the Wildcats as much as he can in a new role. He already looks comfortable at practice.
“He has been a really good acquisition for us,” Klieman said. “He is a mature guy and an older guy that is learning our offense.”
But the Wildcats are also high on Knuth.
The 6-foot-3 and 213-pound quarterback who began his college career at Minnesota helped K-State behind the scenes in practice last season.
“The game keeps slowing down for Jacob Knuth,” Klieman said. “I have been really impressed with Jacob and his continued growth. I thought he did a really good job in the spring when we didn’t know a lot about him, because he was our scout team guy. He did a really good job in the spring and then did a lot of things on his own this summer. His improvement has been really good.”
Now he is in a position to see action as the team’s backup quarterback or third-stringer.
No matter what happens, the Wildcats are glad to see competition at a position that has been filled with change.