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What's The Latest Injury Update On Kansas State Wildcats QB Avery Johnson?
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- What's The Latest Injury Update On Kansas State Wildcats QB Avery Johnson?
(IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)
The Kansas State Wildcats are expected to be without quarterback Avery Johnson again for this weekend's game against the Oklahoma State Cowboys at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
Wildcats coach Collin Klein addressed the issue during his weekly press conference. Without Johnson, K-State will likely turn to backup Blake Barnett. He played the last three quarters of last Saturday's loss to the Colorado Buffaloes. The quarterback turmoil comes after the Wildcats had so much stability at the position the past three seasons.
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Johnson missed the last two games with an undisclosed injury. As expected, the Wildcats struggled in both. His injury came at the worst time. The Wildcats were just coming off an emotional victory against the Kansas Jayhawks in the Sunflower Showdown. It is unknown if the injury occurred during the game or the week of preparation.
By Thursday of that week, Johnson was listed as questionable on the injury report before being ruled out against the Arizona State Sun Devils. The Wildcats had to start backup Jacob Knuth, who was solid in a 28-17 defeat in Tempe.
Things got even worse the following week when Knuth sustained an ankle injury. He was listed as doubtful throughout the week before being ruled out against the Colorado Buffaloes.
That forced the Wildcats to turn to sophomore Dillon Duff, who was getting his first experience at the college level. Duff only completed one pass for three yards while leading the K-State offense to only 13 total yards before he was replaced by Barnett.
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Barnett was an unexpected participant because he was also dealing with an injury. He had not played since mop-up time in the season-opening victory against the Nicholls Cowboys.
Still, he played well enough to keep the Wildcats in contention against Colorado despite the adversity. Barnett completed 18 of 28 passes for 224 yards and three touchdowns, the last score sending the game to overtime. The Buffaloes eventually won 27-24.
The unforunate quarterback news has put a strain on Klein's debut season. It began with so much promise, especially after defeating the Cowboys, Washington State Cougars and Tulane Green during the non-conference schedule.
Even after losing consecutive games against the Cincinnati Bearcats and Houston Cougars, the Wildcats were still in position to bounce back. Things looked promising after the KU victory before everything unraveled.
At worst, the Wildcats would have probably split the past two games with a healthy Johnson.
