Kansas State football finds winning quarterback formula with Will Howard and Avery Johnson
MANHATTAN — Kansas State football coach Chris Klieman called it a hunch.
Will Howard and Avery Johnson just rolled with it.
Regardless, the decision by Klieman and offensive coordinator Collin Klein to rotate the Wildcats' quarterback every other series Saturday against TCU was one answer to the dilemma of which one should be the starter. And for one night at least, it worked better than they could have hoped for.
Both quarterbacks were on their game from the start, as was the entire Wildcat offense in a 41-3 rout of TCU at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. And even if it was an unorthodox arrangement, nobody was complaining afterward.
"At the end of the week, they kind of told us that Will was going to go first, and I was going to get the second drive and then we would just kind of fill it from there," said Johnson, the true freshman who had a breakout game off the bench last week at Texas Tech. "But it was fun just being able to get out there and play a little bit more and kind of get to play a little bit more each week.
"But Will dominated tonight. Credit to him."
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Howard, who has been the starter since midway through last season, got the Wildcats off to a flying start by taking them 75 yards on the game's opening drive. Even though Johnson is clearly the more accomplished runner of the two, he ran for 41 yards on two carries to highlight the drive before DJ Giddens finished it with a 2-yard run.
Not to be outdone, Johnson led the offense on the next possession, which covered 75 yards in seven plays. A forward pitch to Treshaun Ward from the 3-yard line resulted in Johnson's first career touchdown pass.
Statistically, Howard had the better night, completing 10 of 16 passes for 154 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for another 62 yards on just four carries. But Johnson was nearly as effective, completing half of his 10 throws for 90 yards and adding 73 yards on 16 rushing attempts.
Howard said both quarterbacks had the entire offense at their disposal.
"Obviously, Avery is a little faster than I am, so he probably had a couple of more run plays," Howard said. "But we both got reps at every kind of play (in practice).
"Obviously, we knew that the designed QB runs were probably more for him, and the drop-back pass was probably for me, but you've just got to be ready for whatever, because I ended up running the ball and he ended up throwing the ball. So maybe we can both do both."
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Their ability to do both, Klieman said, is what makes the quarterback combination so lethal.
"I thought Will ran the ball well the first few series and I thought Avery threw two dimes to Jayce Brown, and that's the thing. They both can do both, and I think some of the thought was, well one's a thrower and one's a runner. They're both really good quarterbacks."
Neither Howard nor Johnson could recall being part of an alternating quarterback rotation. Well, at least recently.
"The last time I did that was (junior varsity) high school football my freshman year," Howard said with a smile.
Johnson had no concerns about it.
"I would say it's different because I've never done it before, but I wouldn't say it's weird in any way," he said. "I have 100% confidence in Will, and I'm sure he has 100% confidence in me, and CK (Collin Klein) has confidence in both of us.
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"So at the end of the day, I don't really care how it gets done as long as we come out with a win when the clock hits zero."
Even thought there were calls throughout the week for Johnson to take over as the starter after Howard struggled the previous two games, Klieman stood by the senior who led K-State to a Big 12 championship last year.
"Will Howard's our unquestioned leader on this football team," Klieman said. "And it was hard on Will, but he is the lifeblood of our offense, and that kid is still a captain, and that kid is still a guy that hoisted a Big 12 championship trophy.
"And he's a dang good football player. And I love the kid because he just went back to work and said, 'I've got to play better.' And he did. He played he played well. Avery played well."
So what does the future hold for the two-headed quarterback rotation? That remains to be seen.
"Is it what we want to do all season? I don't know," Klieman said. "I don't think so, but like last week, it worked.
"We're going to need both of those guys, as we still have a lot of football left."
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 quarterbacks team up in blowout win over TCU
