Kansas State had to start a fifth-year backup under center in Tempe last Saturday, and they may face uncertainty again at Colorado. It’s a clear sign of how dire the quarterback room has become. For the first time in Collin Klein’s head coaching tenure, every QB on the roster has spent time on the injury report. Heading into the weekend, Klein admits he still doesn’t know who will take the very first snap.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
On3’s Derek Young reported via X that all four Kansas State quarterbacks are injured, with Klein thinking of an emergency option. Running back Joe Jackson stepped in, but he ended up injured as well. On October 17, Avery Johnson fell awkwardly at the end of a 59-yard run against Kansas. He missed one play and finished the game. By midweek, he was questionable, and he was ruled out before kickoff at Arizona State.
“It’s crazy, I’ll be honest with you,” Klein said, according to KStatesSports. “Avery (Johnson) is day-to-day. A lot of it that’s going to depend on how fast this recovery process goes, and because of that, it’s day-to-day. He’s working hard at it and doing everything that he can.”
With the other three QBs nicked up too, Klein used Jackson as the emergency option. He was slow to get up midway through the second quarter and returned two drives later. Jackson’s injury scare adds to Kansas State’s growing quarterback concerns.
As of Wednesday, Johnson is dealing with neck and shoulder issues; Barnett remains on crutches; Duff, who got hurt late in preseason camp, has not played yet; and Knuth tweaked his ankle.
Despite the injuries, Klein said Johnson is throwing and moving at practice, and the other three quarterbacks should get plenty of reps this week. Klein admitted that he still doesn’t know who would line up first, as he said, “Not where we want to be, but we are where we are.”
“The rest of the room, obviously, Jacob (Knuth) is still battling. He tweaked his ankle a little bit. So we’ll kind of see how that progresses through the week. I think the other two are making good progress. We’ll know a little bit more on Wednesday on one of them, but I think good outlooks on the other two.”
In the 35-24 win over Kansas Jayhawks, the Wildcats ran for 359 yards with Johnson running wild and Jackson adding 159. At ASU, they got 84 yards on 32 carries, 2.6 yards per carry, and lost 28-17. Knuth went 26-for-41 for 194 yards and a touchdown. K-State is now 4-3, 1-3 in the Big 12. Klein also failed on both fourth-down attempts, including a 4th-and-12 from Arizona State’s 37-yard line late in the third quarter.
“You can’t think like that when you’re in the war, when you’re in the fight, when you’re in this room,” Klein said. “Everybody has to do their job and focus on the fundamental things that make their job better and that make it go. You need 11 guys to do that on the exact same play, and you need to do it 70 times a game. That’s what then gets the flow and the momentum.”
Klein said the line lost the battle up front, and the depth is thin around it. Tight end Will Anciaux is out, Garrett Oakley was ruled out at ASU but practiced on Monday, and freshman lineman Oliver Miller has been filling in at tight end. Colorado’s tackles, which Klein called “extremely twitchy,” could test the ground in the Saturday matchup.
Colorado has its own mess
Neither team has shown enough consistency to make the matchup an easy pick, as Kansas State is only a slight 2.5- to a 3.5-point favorite. Still, Klein believes the Buffaloes are creative on both sides of the ball, with speed across the roster and defensive tackles who can cause problems.
“They do a lot of different things schematically on both sides of the football,” Klein said. “Both coordinators are very creative and do a lot. They have talent. They’ve got guys that can run on both sides of the ball. Their D-tackles are extremely twitchy and fire off the football. They’re a talented football team.”
Colorado (2-5, 0-4 Big 12) has lost five straight games, including a 57-24 loss at Oklahoma State. It led 24-23 at halftime, then went scoreless over the final two quarters. Isaac Wilson was 14-for-16 before the break, then fumbled the first snap of the second half and threw two interceptions.
Freshman Kaneal Sweetwyne eventually took over. The defense gave up 598 yards, and Joseph Williams (46 catches, 643 yards) is the receiver Kansas State has to stop.