Kansas State football's Treshaun Ward prevailed against tortillas and Texas Tech defense

MANHATTAN — It didn't take a shot — albeit a soft one — to the head to light a fire under Treshaun Ward during Kansas State football's 38-21 victory at Texas Tech.

Then again, it didn't hurt.

Whether it was taking a flying tortilla to the helmet, or just the fact that he was finally back to full strength, Ward was motivated, and it showed in his most productive game yet as a Wildcat.

Ward, a super-senior transfer from Florida State, served as a perfect complement to quarterback Avery Johnson in K-State's running game — leading the team with 118 yards on 15 carries as the Wildcats racked up 272 yards on the ground.

"I don't know if you guys know, but Texas Tech is pretty hard to play, especially with their tradition of throwing tortillas and stuff," Ward said of Jones AT&T Stadium, where the student section is right on top of the visiting bench. "In the first quarter I got hit with one, and I had to have the emotional maturity and not be like, 'God, they're hitting me,' and stuff like that, but I've got to keep going and be mature about it.

"So, winning on that stage was big, especially because Texas Tech is (a hard place) to play."

Related: Here are Kansas State football's grades from an impressive bounce-back win over Texas Tech

Truth be told, Ward was more amused than angered by the tortillas.

"I was sitting on the bench, and I actually had my helmet on because I just knew for some reason I was going to get hit," he said with a smile. "But all I heard was a smack on the back of my head and then next thing you know it just slid down and I saw it was a tortilla.

"I couldn't be mad at it. I mean, they're part of the (Tech) tradition and stuff like that."

Instead, Ward chalked his success up to being fully healthy after missing the Big 12 opener against Central Florida and not being quite up to speed for his return two weeks ago at Oklahoma State.

"I was still a little timid about my injury," he said, even though he ran for 59 yards and a touchdown in the Wildcats' 29-21 loss to OSU. "But as far as Texas Tech, I thought I could go out there and be myself.

"You see how it turned out, and that was good incentive for me to be back."

Related: Kansas State freshman quarterback Avery Johnson puts the Wildcats on his back

Ward's performance would have drawn more attention had it not been for the breakout game by Johnson, the true freshman, who stepped in at quarterback and ran for 90 yards and tied a school single-game record with five touchdowns. But K-State coach Chris Klieman had a feeling Ward was due for a big night as well.

"I thought he had a great week of practice," Klieman said. "I don't know if the Oklahoma State game he was 100% healthy still. And just watching him in practice that week, I thought he moved around well, but not with the same urgency, spark and energy that he ran with in practice last week."

Ward had split time at running back with sophomore DJ Giddens, who had a big game against Central Florida, where he ran for 207 yards and four touchdowns in Ward's absence.

But in the Texas Tech game, Ward was more effective and got the bulk of the running back carries in the second half, when the Wildcats blew the game open. Klieman and offensive coordinator Collin Klein simply went with the hot hand, much as they did with Johnson over starter Will Howard at quarterback.

Related: Kansas State football's DJ Giddens runs wild in 44-31 Wildcat victory

"Treshaun was running really well, and it was set up by some of the things that Avery was doing, which I think made Treshaun's holes bigger," Klieman said. "And a lot of eyes were on No. 5 (Johnson).

"But regardless, I just thought Treshaun ran really hard, really physical, didn't go down with single contact, and I'm hoping that's the Treshaun that we all are going to see when healthy. Because that kid's an explosive guy and I saw that in fall camp."

Ward is ready to prove his coach right.

"I'm confident as can be right now, especially after that game," he said. "I was a little timid going into that game, but when I got my first hit in that (injured) area, I just felt like I could go.

"So my confidence is at an all-time high."

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 running back Treshaun Ward back at full strength