Kansas State Puts Huge Trust In Junior Ryan Howard At Left Tackle
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The Kansas State Wildcats football team had to deal with two devastating injuries during training camp that occurred around the same time.
First, left tackle John Pastore sustained a season-ending lower leg injury. Then it was learned tackle George Fitzpatrick would miss the entire season due to a medical emergency that kept him out all of last year.
The unexpected blow left the Wildcats coaching staff scrambling for who would replace them. And then sophomore Ryan Howard stepped up. He is replacing Pastore at left tackle this season. It won't be an easy task because Pastore was a preseason All-Big 12 pick.
But K-State coach Collin Klein feels Howard is up to the challenge.
"How hard he works," Klein said of why he is confident in Howard. "He has busted his butt since the day he got here. I remember when I was recruiting Will (Howard), his passion and how he fell in love with this place, how much he cares about this place, how hard he's worked to get his body ready to go. There's going to be a growth curve for sure, but he's going to take it in stride."
The 6-foot-7, 295-pound Howard is more than qualified for the tough job of protecting quarterback Avery Johnson's blind side. Although he did not see any action last year, he was rated as the No. 54 offensive tackle in the nation by ESPN and 16th-best prospect in Pennsylvania. How well Howard plays this season is one of the biggest keys because the Wildcats have inexperienced depth behind Johnson. None of the backups have any experience so it's important to keep Johnson healthy.
HOW TO WATCH TODAY'S K-STATE VS NICHOLLS GAME
WHAT: Nicholls at Kansas State Wildcats
WHEN: Saturday at 7 p.m., at Bill Snyder Family Stadium in Manhattan
TV: ESPN+
LINE: Kansas State +40.5
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Shandel Richardson is the publisher of KStateRoundtable. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com
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