Latest QB Rankings Gives Kansas State's Avery Johnson Even More Motivation This Season
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Kansas State Wildcats quarterback Avery Johnson had all the internal motivation needed for this season.
He desperately wants to lead the Wildcats to a Big 12 championship and possible berth in the College Football Playoff. This is likely his last chance to do so unless he considers returning for a fifth year of eligibility. He also wants to prove himself in Collin Klein's first year as the coach.
But Johnson also has plenty of external motivation. Not many folks outside of Manhattan, Kan., are giving him a chance. Many pundits who raved about him coming out of high school are now having doubts.
Recently, the website College Football Report named its Top 30 quarterbacks in the nation. Six from the Big 12 were chosen. None were named Avery Johnson.
Here's a list of the Big 12 quarterbacks who made the list:
Drew Mestamaker, Oklahoma State Cowboys
Devon Dampier, Utah Utes
Bear Bachmeier, BYU Cougars
Noah Fafita, Arizona Wildcats
Conner Weigman, Houston Cougars
Will Hammond, Texas Tech Red Raiders
It's not like Johnson needs this stuff to get fired up. He's a competitor. He wants to prove he's the best regardless. He is entering his third season as the full-time starter. After a solid season as a freshman that began with Heisman Trophy aspirations, he took somewhat of a step back last year as a junior.
Johnson hasn't performed poorly by any means. It's just he's faced high expectations since arriving on campus. It's why the Wildcats were completely comfortable with Will Howard leaving for Ohio State three years ago because they were already wanting to hand the keys to Johnson.
Johnson has spurned more lucrative NIL offers from other schools but has decided to stick it out in Manhattan. Succeeding at Kansas State would make silencing the doubters seem even sweeter.
The Wildcats are just hoping he can block out all the noise to produce a solid season.
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Shandel Richardson is the publisher of KStateRoundtable. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com
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