Late Bloomer Ready to Shine at K-State

By: D. Scott Fritchen

The self-described late bloomer found himself inside of the star quarterback's lavender sports car the second week of December. Jaron Tibbs, who once aspired to become a basketball player, found himself "chopping it up" with Kansas State quarterback Avery Johnson in Manhattan after a dinner with coaches and Johnson in Tibbs' honor. Tibbs, on a visit from his home in Indianapolis, Indiana, sought a new college football home, seeking new opportunities after two seasons spent at in-state Purdue.

He had seen Johnson now and again from afar, a SportsCenter highlight here and there, and always came away thinking, "Dang, he's pretty good," as the dual-threat Johnson evaded would-be tacklers and threw darts to wide receiver Jayce Brown for big gains. Now visiting Manhattan, the 6-foot-3, 210-pound Tibbs envisioned himself playing at wide receiver opposite of Brown, a potentially deadly one-two punch, yet he needed this trip just to be sure.

After meetings with K-State coaches, dinner, a "chop-it-up" session with Johnson during his brief, 36-hour visit, Tibbs was sure.

K-State was the place to be.

He cancelled his remaining recruiting visits to Arkansas and USC.

And Tibbs signed on December 18 to become a Wildcat.

"K-State is definitely diehard," Tibbs says. "When I posted my offer on Twitter, fans gave me 20 reasons to come to K-State. K-State is getting a player that's ready to come in and is all about winning and just wants to help take this program to the next level."

The 19-year-old Tibbs possesses an ideal frame at 6-foot-3 and 210 pounds, and his athleticism coupled with deft route running in traffic and speed on the post makes the sure-handed pass catcher a virtual threat across the field. After recording just five catches for 42 yards as a freshman, Tibbs ranked third among the Boilermakers with 25 receptions for 305 yards and two touchdowns his sophomore season. He had four catches for 56 yards against Northwestern and four catches for a career-high 73 yards at Michigan State.

This after Tibbs always fancied himself as a basketball player at Cathedral High School, where he averaged 9.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.3 steals. On the gridiron, Tibbs flourished as well, and the three-star recruit was tabbed as the No. 16 prospect in Indiana by 247Sports. He broke out with 61 catches for 910 yards and 13 touchdowns his senior season, and he was named to the 2022 Indiana Football Coaches Association All-State Top-50 team.

"I tell people all the time that basketball helped me with my other skills," he says. "Going up for a 50-50 ball is going up for a rebound, and getting off the press at the line is really just crossing somebody over and trying to get to the paint.

"As a wide receiver, I learned there are a lot of parts to being a receiver that you can always perfect — top of the route, winning at the line, winning in the middle of your route when stacking a defensive back, then timing your route, and coming back downhill fast for a ball. In high school, I was pretty good just because of my size and God-given abilities. Then I got to college and sought to be good at all parts, your routes have to be polished.

"So, I was definitely a late bloomer. One of my upsides is I feel like I'm not fully developed, and I have a lot more polishing I can do."

He knows he can do that under the guidance of wide receivers coach Matthew Middleton. On his visit, the soon-to-be signee and Middleton watched film of the K-State offense. Later in a subsequent meeting with offensive coordinator Conor Riley, Tibbs regurgitated exactly what he learned during his meeting with Middleton.

"It was kind of like an NFL-style visit, which I kind of liked," Tibbs says. "It was a film session with Coach Middleton and then a meeting with (Riley), and he quizzed me on the plays. I liked that. I liked the style of the offense and the kind of decision making the receivers have."

The K-State offense in 2024 finished first in school history in offensive yards per play (6.57), first in rushing yards per carry (6.08), tied for third in passing touchdowns (25), fourth in offensive yards per game (426.8), fifth in total offensive yards (5.549), sixth in rushing yards (2,801), seventh in completions (222), 10^th in total passing yards (2,748) and 10^th in passing attempts (383).

"You can tell that they're really well coached and have a really good offensive coordinator," Tibbs says. "When I watched film, I could see myself in there, because I could see, especially in the bowl game, a need for a wide receiver. It would be the perfect fit and make the offense that much better. The offense is already good, but if you add a wide receiver to the outside, it makes it unstoppable, especially with the running backs we have."

Tibbs envisions making plays.

"At wide receiver, you get to make plays," he says. "The offensive line, they're always the unsung heroes, but they get overlooked at times, but the wide receiver, you're literally the one making the play, making the catch and scoring the touchdown."

As for Tibbs' favorite route?

"A deep post," he says. "That's just a touchdown route."

Could Tibbs and Brown become a dangerous duo for K-State?

"That's exactly what I feel like," Tibbs says.

It's a long way from the days of playing basketball and flag football at the local YMCA.

Now it's all business.

"What I've learned most is really how to work hard when times are tough," Tibbs says. "Especially at Purdue this past season, times were tough, and every single moment was hard. We were a morning practice team, so we got up every day at 5:30 a.m. and tried to come out with energy and passion in practice. I learned when times are tough to put my head down and work my way out of the hole. At some point, you have to come out of the hole."

He's burst out of the hole and into a whole new world. K-State has won at least nine games in each of the past three seasons and has won a Big 12 Championship over that span as well.

"It's a winning culture," Tibbs says. "You have guys on the team who their main goal is just to win. It's not just selfish and trying to get to the NFL, because if you win and do everything you're supposed to do, everything will come with it."

Tibbs looks forward to attacking each day with energy and passion.

He is excited to build a relationship with his new quarterback.

"Honestly, it's exciting because when you have Avery Johnson back there that you know can extend plays with his legs and get the ball deep sitting back in the pocket, it makes it easier because you know you have more time to really run your route to the fullest," Tibbs says. "When a play is broken, you're never really not an option, and the play is never dead."

More times than not, the play remains alive.

And with K-State's coaches and with Johnson in the pocket, Tibbs, the self-described late bloomer, is eager to really blossom.

Kansas State University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Jayce Brown

Avery Johnson

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