Here's how injured Kansas State football QB Will Howard is progressing toward UCF game
MANHATTAN — Counting Kansas State football quarterback Will Howard out is never a good idea.
While stopping short of declaring Howard fit to start in Saturday's Big 12 opener, offensive coordinator Collin Klein said Thursday that Howard was making daily progress after suffering a leg injury in last week's 30-27 loss at Missouri.
"Will has gotten better every day," Klein said ahead of the 7 p.m. game against Central Florida (3-0) at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. "If he can go and gets clear and healthy, then obviously he'll go, but it's been day to day, and it'll probably continue that way. (The injury) was soft tissue, which is positive."
Earlier in the week, head coach Chris Klieman had listed Howard as "questionable."
Howard also expressed confidence in backups Avery Johnson, a true freshman, and sophomore Jake Rubley.
"Avery and Jake have both had good weeks, and Avery would be the one to go it Will's not able to," Klein said.
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The prognosis was not quite as good for running back Treshaun Ward, who also was hurt in the Missouri game.
"Day to day still, but he needs to come along a little bit," Klein said of Ward, who has split time with starter DJ Giddens. He added that Anthony Frias and La'James White will serve as the backups.
Should Howard not be able to start on Saturday, Johnson would become the first Wildcat true freshman to start at quarterback since Howard did so when Skylar Thompson suffered a season-ending injury in 2020.
"It's not something I've necessarily experienced," Klein said of going with the true freshman. "But my confidence is in the preparation and how Avery has worked.
"We wouldn't put him out there if he wasn't ready. It's not just about one guy, too. It's about everybody stepping up and playing well around whoever's back there to make it go."
Kansas State should receive a lift on the offensive line this week, when super-senior right tackle Christian Duffie becomes available for the first time.
Arne Green is based in Salina and covers Kansas State University sports for the Gannett network. He can be reached at agreen@gannett.com or on Twitter at @arnegreen.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas State football quarterback Will Howard's injury getting better
