Kansas State football adds veteran quarterback depth with UConn transfer Ta'Quan Roberson
Kansas State football filled an immediate need through the transfer portal Wednesday with the signing of former Connecticut quarterback Ta'Quan Roberson.
While sophomore Avery Johnson is entrenched as the starter, he was the only quarterback on the roster to have taken a single game snap at the Division I level, making an experienced backup a top priority.
Roberson, who started his career at Penn State but spent the last two seasons at UConn and has one year of eligibility remaining, certainly fits the bill. He played in 11 games with 10 starts in 2023 for the 3-9 Huskies, completing 58.2% of his passes for 2,075 yards and 12 touchdowns with six interceptions.
The 5-foot-11, 205-pound Roberson entered the portal on May 1 just before the deadline. His future with the Huskies was uncertain after UConn signed former Oklahoma and Wisconsin quarterback Nick Evers in the spring.
Roberson transferred to UConn in 2022 and won the starting job, only to suffer a season-ending injury in the opener. He started as the backup last year but took over when starter Joe Fagnano went down in the second game.
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Getting Roberson provides needed insurance for the Wildcats, given the lack of experience in the quarterback room. He likely will battle sophomore Jacob Knuth for the backup spot. Knuth redshirted last year after transferring in from Minnesota.
K-State coach Chris Klieman was asked Tuesday during a Catbacker tour stop in Salina about the challenge of finding a veteran with no guarantee of playing time.
"Everybody wants to compete," Klieman said. "That's your hope is that people want to compete. But I'm not going to get into specifics on that."
K-State lost starter Will Howard and third-stringer Jake Rubley to the transfer portal at the end of the 2023 regular season. Johnson, who arrived last year amid much fanfare, started and was named most valuable player in the Wildcats' 28-19 Pop-Tarts Bowl victory over North Carolina State.
But the bowl victory was Johnson's only career start in eight appearances, as he threw for 479 yards and five touchdowns with no interceptions and rushed for 296 yards and seven more scores.
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 adds a veteran quarterback from transfer portal
