Kansas State University Athletics
Taking His Game – and Leadership – to the Next Level
Apr 04, 2025 | Football, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
The man of the hour spoke for five minutes. Avery Johnson had places to go, people to see, as the Kansas State junior quarterback spoke to reporters on the cusp of spring practice in Manhattan. The best Power 4 player not to transfer this offseason, according to reports, Johnson could be standoff-ish given his national fame, but, no, the native of Wichita, Kansas, is too busy making friends among the newcomers on this Wildcats squad while enhancing those relationships with returning teammates who aided in a 9-4 campaign capped by a 44-41 win over Rutgers in the Rate Bowl.
"It's been a lot of fun, and I think it just starts with spending time with guys outside the facility," Johnson says. "A bunch of those transfer receivers, spending time with them, going to lunch, and hanging out, watching basketball, or whatever it might be, we watch some UFC fights on the weekends, and just not walk past somebody and not say anything to them.
"It's about just being a people person and really getting to know people on a deeper level so when we are going through it on the field, you can push them to the max."
Johnson has been pushing himself to his max.
Listed at 6-foot-3 and 188 pounds, Johnson on Wednesday said that he currently weighed 200 pounds. During March testing, he was one of four players to reach 23 mile per hour. He ran exactly 23.00 miles per hour — "He can roll a little bit," K-State head coach Chris Klieman says — and he isn't satisfied.
"Why stop now?" Johnson says. "We have to keep dreaming and shooting for the start and working for that 24 mile per hour mark."
"It's just a credit to the strength and nutrition staff," Johnson says. "They gave me a plan and told me to go after it and chase it. I sat down with Coach Tru, and he showed me Jacob Parrish two seasons ago to his last season and how he transformed his body. He told me to strive for something like that. I'm just trying to work my hardest in the weight room and out there whenever we do our team runs, and I keep my nutrition at the top of my priority list so I can sustain more hits this season and be harder to get down whenever I am outside the pocket and doing some quarterback runs."
Johnson is sixth in K-State history in career passing efficiency (137.2), ninth in passing yards per game (152.0), tied for ninth in passing touchdowns (30) and tied for 10th in touchdown responsibility (44).
Last season, he joined Alabama's Jalen Milroe as the only Power 4 players in the regular season with at least 2,500 passing yards and 525 rushing yards. Johnson threw for 2,712 yards and a school-record 25 touchdowns to go along with 605 rushing yards and seven touchdowns. His 3,317 total offensive yards ranked sixth in single-season history and his passing yards ranked second most by a sophomore.
The opportunity to build upon those marks will come.
His favorite pass catcher — junior wide receiver Jayce Brown, whose 823 receiving yards were most by a Wildcat since Tyler Lockett in 2014 — is back, along with a deep and established tight end room that includes sixth-year senior Will Swanson, junior Garrett Oakley and sophomores Will Anciaux and Andrew Metzger.
Now is about building that foundation for 2025. And that starts with leadership.
"(Johnson) has just got to infectious personality and that aura about him," Klieman says. "He's taken that on, and he's taken it to the next level. He's not afraid to hold people to the standard he expects. He has to do it, too, but his leadership continues to evolve.
"This is going to be a really big spring for Avery because he's going to practice. We're not tackling the quarterback. He's going to practice. He needs to build a rapport with the linemen that are going to be new, he needs to build a rapport with the wide receivers who are going to be new, so he's excited about it. I'm really looking forward to seeing how he handles a great day and how he handles adversity. I know he's prepared for it with the experiences he's had."
Count Jerand Bradley among Johnson's fans. The 6-foot-5, 220-pound Bradley spent the 2024 season at Boston College after playing the previous three seasons at Texas Tech, beginning his career under current K-State offensive coordinator Matt Wells.
After catching five passes for 99 yards as a redshirt freshman at Texas Tech, Bradley exploded with 51 catches for a team-high 744 yards and six touchdowns in 2022. He ranked third among FBS freshmen in receiving yards and his 180 receiving yards against Oklahoma marked the most by an FBS freshman on the season and the most by a Red Raider freshman since Michael Crabtree had 95 at Texas on November 10, 2007. He earned Second Team Freshman All-America honors by The Athletic.
As a sophomore, Bradley was named to the Preseason All-Big 12 Team, and he was named to the Biletnikoff Award preseason watch list, yet he finished with 36 catches for 431 yards and four touchdowns.
"I like how he's so versatile," Bradley said upon signing with K-State. "I like everything about the offense from Avery Johnson to the weapons we have. I remember the first time I saw him play when I was at Texas Tech, Avery scored five touchdowns. Every time I see him, he's doing something crazy on the field.
"Man, I just love watching him play."
Jaron Tibbs, the self-described late bloomer, found himself inside of the star quarterback's lavender sports car the second week of December. Tibbs, who once aspired to become a basketball player, found himself "chopping it up" with 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 Johnson evaded would-be tacklers and threw darts to 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.
The 19-year-old Tibbs' 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.
Johnson has been impressed with both Bradley and Tibbs since their arrival in Manhattan.
"(Bradley) has just come in and leads by example, him and Tibbs, always doing jugs or tennis balls, and left a good first impression as soon as they got here and just continue to watch them grow. I think they're going to have a really good season."
Meanwhile, Johnson calls Matt Wells "my guy." Wells, who arrived last year as associate head coach and quarterbacks coach, instantly gelled with Johnson. Now Wells is offensive coordinator following the departure of Conor Riley to the Dallas Cowboys.
"It's been really good, just being really grateful for Riles to get that position and grateful for him to be able to move up," Johnson says. "We're all excited for him. Coach Klieman and the rest of the staff here are excited for him. Spending more time with Coach Wells, that's my guy, and I'm just happy to be around him more."
Wells in February called his partnership with Johnson "a really good start."
"A really good start but as we all look at it, I see the records broken, I see the stats that are really good, I see his stats compared to national and other quarterbacks, and I am proud of the start, simply put," Wells said. "I'd tell you we have more to go. We have more to work on. He'll be the first to tell you and I'll be the first to tell you we look at things through a very, very critical eye. Whether it's footwork, I think we have to get better at deep-ball accuracy, and some of that is footwork, and we're in a deep dive and we're still in the middle of dissecting every single incompletion and figuring out why. And there are answers why. Sometimes it's footwork, sometimes it's bad eyes, sometimes his bad eyes might be a result of bad coaching, OK?
"And every one of those incompletions are my incompletions, and that's how personal I take it. Man, he and I are in the middle of doing that, and it's awesome. It's fun, it's challenging. Can we cut the incompletions in half? If we cut them in half, he'll have a freaking great year. That's the goal but man, now it's the journey."
The journey through on-field spring preparations will encompass 10 practices, behooving Johnson to exert his leadership and organize captain-led practices over the summer months prior to fall camp.
"We have to have guys going full speed," Johnson says, "so that can translate onto the field on Saturday nights."
It's t-minus 142 days until K-State opens its 2025 season against Iowa State in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic in Dublin, Ireland.
"We all have Dublin in the back of our mind," Johnson says. "Right now, we're just focused on spring ball and then focused on fall camp following that, but ultimately, our first game against Iowa State is still in the back of our mind. That's what we're going to continue to work toward this offseason."
The man of the hour spoke for five minutes. Avery Johnson had places to go, people to see, as the Kansas State junior quarterback spoke to reporters on the cusp of spring practice in Manhattan. The best Power 4 player not to transfer this offseason, according to reports, Johnson could be standoff-ish given his national fame, but, no, the native of Wichita, Kansas, is too busy making friends among the newcomers on this Wildcats squad while enhancing those relationships with returning teammates who aided in a 9-4 campaign capped by a 44-41 win over Rutgers in the Rate Bowl.
"It's been a lot of fun, and I think it just starts with spending time with guys outside the facility," Johnson says. "A bunch of those transfer receivers, spending time with them, going to lunch, and hanging out, watching basketball, or whatever it might be, we watch some UFC fights on the weekends, and just not walk past somebody and not say anything to them.
"It's about just being a people person and really getting to know people on a deeper level so when we are going through it on the field, you can push them to the max."
Johnson has been pushing himself to his max.
Listed at 6-foot-3 and 188 pounds, Johnson on Wednesday said that he currently weighed 200 pounds. During March testing, he was one of four players to reach 23 mile per hour. He ran exactly 23.00 miles per hour — "He can roll a little bit," K-State head coach Chris Klieman says — and he isn't satisfied.
"Why stop now?" Johnson says. "We have to keep dreaming and shooting for the start and working for that 24 mile per hour mark."
"It's just a credit to the strength and nutrition staff," Johnson says. "They gave me a plan and told me to go after it and chase it. I sat down with Coach Tru, and he showed me Jacob Parrish two seasons ago to his last season and how he transformed his body. He told me to strive for something like that. I'm just trying to work my hardest in the weight room and out there whenever we do our team runs, and I keep my nutrition at the top of my priority list so I can sustain more hits this season and be harder to get down whenever I am outside the pocket and doing some quarterback runs."
Johnson is sixth in K-State history in career passing efficiency (137.2), ninth in passing yards per game (152.0), tied for ninth in passing touchdowns (30) and tied for 10th in touchdown responsibility (44).
Last season, he joined Alabama's Jalen Milroe as the only Power 4 players in the regular season with at least 2,500 passing yards and 525 rushing yards. Johnson threw for 2,712 yards and a school-record 25 touchdowns to go along with 605 rushing yards and seven touchdowns. His 3,317 total offensive yards ranked sixth in single-season history and his passing yards ranked second most by a sophomore.
The opportunity to build upon those marks will come.
His favorite pass catcher — junior wide receiver Jayce Brown, whose 823 receiving yards were most by a Wildcat since Tyler Lockett in 2014 — is back, along with a deep and established tight end room that includes sixth-year senior Will Swanson, junior Garrett Oakley and sophomores Will Anciaux and Andrew Metzger.
Now is about building that foundation for 2025. And that starts with leadership.
"(Johnson) has just got to infectious personality and that aura about him," Klieman says. "He's taken that on, and he's taken it to the next level. He's not afraid to hold people to the standard he expects. He has to do it, too, but his leadership continues to evolve.
"This is going to be a really big spring for Avery because he's going to practice. We're not tackling the quarterback. He's going to practice. He needs to build a rapport with the linemen that are going to be new, he needs to build a rapport with the wide receivers who are going to be new, so he's excited about it. I'm really looking forward to seeing how he handles a great day and how he handles adversity. I know he's prepared for it with the experiences he's had."
Count Jerand Bradley among Johnson's fans. The 6-foot-5, 220-pound Bradley spent the 2024 season at Boston College after playing the previous three seasons at Texas Tech, beginning his career under current K-State offensive coordinator Matt Wells.
After catching five passes for 99 yards as a redshirt freshman at Texas Tech, Bradley exploded with 51 catches for a team-high 744 yards and six touchdowns in 2022. He ranked third among FBS freshmen in receiving yards and his 180 receiving yards against Oklahoma marked the most by an FBS freshman on the season and the most by a Red Raider freshman since Michael Crabtree had 95 at Texas on November 10, 2007. He earned Second Team Freshman All-America honors by The Athletic.
As a sophomore, Bradley was named to the Preseason All-Big 12 Team, and he was named to the Biletnikoff Award preseason watch list, yet he finished with 36 catches for 431 yards and four touchdowns.
"I like how he's so versatile," Bradley said upon signing with K-State. "I like everything about the offense from Avery Johnson to the weapons we have. I remember the first time I saw him play when I was at Texas Tech, Avery scored five touchdowns. Every time I see him, he's doing something crazy on the field.
"Man, I just love watching him play."
Jaron Tibbs, the self-described late bloomer, found himself inside of the star quarterback's lavender sports car the second week of December. Tibbs, who once aspired to become a basketball player, found himself "chopping it up" with 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 Johnson evaded would-be tacklers and threw darts to 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.
The 19-year-old Tibbs' 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.
Johnson has been impressed with both Bradley and Tibbs since their arrival in Manhattan.
"(Bradley) has just come in and leads by example, him and Tibbs, always doing jugs or tennis balls, and left a good first impression as soon as they got here and just continue to watch them grow. I think they're going to have a really good season."
Meanwhile, Johnson calls Matt Wells "my guy." Wells, who arrived last year as associate head coach and quarterbacks coach, instantly gelled with Johnson. Now Wells is offensive coordinator following the departure of Conor Riley to the Dallas Cowboys.
"It's been really good, just being really grateful for Riles to get that position and grateful for him to be able to move up," Johnson says. "We're all excited for him. Coach Klieman and the rest of the staff here are excited for him. Spending more time with Coach Wells, that's my guy, and I'm just happy to be around him more."
Wells in February called his partnership with Johnson "a really good start."
"A really good start but as we all look at it, I see the records broken, I see the stats that are really good, I see his stats compared to national and other quarterbacks, and I am proud of the start, simply put," Wells said. "I'd tell you we have more to go. We have more to work on. He'll be the first to tell you and I'll be the first to tell you we look at things through a very, very critical eye. Whether it's footwork, I think we have to get better at deep-ball accuracy, and some of that is footwork, and we're in a deep dive and we're still in the middle of dissecting every single incompletion and figuring out why. And there are answers why. Sometimes it's footwork, sometimes it's bad eyes, sometimes his bad eyes might be a result of bad coaching, OK?
"And every one of those incompletions are my incompletions, and that's how personal I take it. Man, he and I are in the middle of doing that, and it's awesome. It's fun, it's challenging. Can we cut the incompletions in half? If we cut them in half, he'll have a freaking great year. That's the goal but man, now it's the journey."
The journey through on-field spring preparations will encompass 10 practices, behooving Johnson to exert his leadership and organize captain-led practices over the summer months prior to fall camp.
"We have to have guys going full speed," Johnson says, "so that can translate onto the field on Saturday nights."
It's t-minus 142 days until K-State opens its 2025 season against Iowa State in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic in Dublin, Ireland.
"We all have Dublin in the back of our mind," Johnson says. "Right now, we're just focused on spring ball and then focused on fall camp following that, but ultimately, our first game against Iowa State is still in the back of our mind. That's what we're going to continue to work toward this offseason."
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