Ellsworth Eager to Showcase QB Room
Feb 20, 2026 | Football, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
From Northern Iowa to Kansas State to Texas A&M, Christian Ellsworth and Collin Klein have been connected. Ellsworth was a true freshman quarterback when Klein served as Northern Iowa quarterbacks coach in 2016. He worked as an offensive graduate assistant under quarterbacks coach Klein at K-State in 2020-21. Finally, Ellsworth served under offensive coordinator Klein for two seasons at Texas A&M, first as a senior offensive analyst in 2024 and then as tight ends coach last season.
Now the 28-year-old Ellsworth, formerly the youngest position coach in the SEC, and noted as a "rising star in this profession" by Klein, serves as quarterbacks coach for the first time in his career.
"It's a position at K-State that has a rich tradition of success and history," Ellsworth says, "so it's a tremendous honor."
The K-State lineage features two Heisman Trophy finalists in Michael Bishop and Klein, and it features 2022 Ring of Honor inductee Ell Roberson III, and it recently has featured NFL Draft picks Skylar Thompson and Will Howard.
Now there's senior Avery Johnson, who's spent his career winning games and putting up historic numbers on the football field.
"I think he's the best in the country," Ellsworth says. "There's a lot of work to continue to prove that, but we have all the pieces aligned to get that done."
Ellsworth, while serving as K-State's offensive graduate assistant, helped show Johnson around when the Wichita native and five-star prospect attended games at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. Ellsworth had moved on by the time Johnson committed to the Wildcats and later felt the excitement in December when he phoned Johnson to rekindle things.
"We have a special bond that we're going to continue to build on, as both of us have played quarterback under Collin Klein," Ellsworth says, "and both of us have the understanding of the type of men that he needs in that room to help lead the program. We talked about how this is not a rebuild, but a 'win now.'
"A lot of times during change, people might assume that you're going to try to get by. We're not going to try. We're going to win it all. I'm excited to work with him and to be around him and I'll continue to push him to lead this team to success."
Months after that initial phone conversation with Johnson, Ellsworth beams with optimism over the ensuing conversations he's had with the star signal-caller at the Vanier Family Football Complex.
"Obviously, I've been tuned into what K-State has done the last few years," Ellsworth says. "I've been gone four seasons but being able to watch him grow from that Texas Tech game as a true freshman to now, we're talking together about how we can take those steps forward. It's been awesome watching him grow as a leader on and off the field. He's incredibly smart. He wants to be challenged as well. That's the phase we're in right now, is, 'How are we going to help you continue to improve day in and day out and find ways to truly attack?'
"That's our mantra: Let's attack."
Conversely, the mantra assuredly is not: Let's fine tune.
"It's not start from scratch, it's improve upon what he already has and is," Ellsworth says. "In this phase of his career, you're not going to take a ton of tweaks from a technical standpoint. For him, it's more about looking at mistakes or learning opportunities from years past and continuing to grow."
Johnson is one of three signal-callers in K-State history with 5,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards in a career. Johnson is tied No. 1 all-time with 48 touchdown passes and ranks No. 4 all-time with 1,378 rushing yards as a quarterback, No. 5 with 6,954 yards of total offense, No. 5 with 210.7 total offensive yards per game, No. 5 with 5,576 passing yards, and No. 7 with 159.0 passing yards per game.
Johnson's 26 career starts are tied for sixth by a K-State quarterback since 1990, and his 16 victories as a starting quarterback ranks eighth.
"He's one of the most gifted players in the country throwing the football and running the football," Ellsworth says. "For him, it's not trying to do too much, not being Superman, but also understanding he has a unique skillset and he's dynamic, so when the ball in his hands he can truly change the game every single play. He can trust his ability and the people around him and trust us as a staff that we're going to put him into positions to go be elite, which is what he is."
Johnson leads a hungry quarterback room for the Wildcats that features fellow senior Jacob Knuth, sophomore Blake Barnett and redshirt freshman Dillion Duff.
Knuth played a combined eight snaps in two appearances against Kansas and Texas and had a 40-yard run against the Jayhawks last season. In 2024, he completed a nine-yard pass against both UT Martin and BYU.
Barnett, in the first action of his career, used his 6-foot-1, 215-pound frame in the running game with 14 carries for 40 yards on designed run over a span of four contests last season.
Duff redshirted last season.
"From Jacob Knuth, one of the older hats in the room, to Blake Barnett and Dillion Duff, those suckers are competitive and they compete every single rep," Ellsworth says. "We're in the middle of our conditioning phase and it's been great to see those guys jump to the front of the line. Avery is pretty fast, but those other guys aren't afraid of the competition and want to jump in and compete and push him to his limits. It's been great to watch. They're going to be in a battle."
The first battle of the Klein era at K-State will arrive on September 5 when the Wildcats face Nicholls at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. Every moment leading up to kickoff will draw cheers.
Ellsworth is confident that the cheers will only continue when Johnson takes the field for the first offensive series of his final season.
"It's going to be an exciting moment," Ellsworth says. "That first 10 minutes before the start of the game is going to be such a special time for everybody. I'm getting goosebumps thinking about it. I'm looking forward to seeing Collin lead the team down the tunnel and into a stadium where his name is and where he's had so much success on the field, and I'm looking forward to hearing Bill Snyder Family Stadium explode in cheers when Avery comes out there.
"I know there's a lot of anticipation for the product we put on the field. On September 5, there'll be a lot of anxious people about what we're going to be. It's going to be really exciting, but we're not going to shy away from the moment. We're ready for it, we will be ready for it, and we're confident Avery is going to lead us to wins because that's who he is."
Ellsworth pauses.
"He's one of the best in the country."
From Northern Iowa to Kansas State to Texas A&M, Christian Ellsworth and Collin Klein have been connected. Ellsworth was a true freshman quarterback when Klein served as Northern Iowa quarterbacks coach in 2016. He worked as an offensive graduate assistant under quarterbacks coach Klein at K-State in 2020-21. Finally, Ellsworth served under offensive coordinator Klein for two seasons at Texas A&M, first as a senior offensive analyst in 2024 and then as tight ends coach last season.
Now the 28-year-old Ellsworth, formerly the youngest position coach in the SEC, and noted as a "rising star in this profession" by Klein, serves as quarterbacks coach for the first time in his career.
"It's a position at K-State that has a rich tradition of success and history," Ellsworth says, "so it's a tremendous honor."
The K-State lineage features two Heisman Trophy finalists in Michael Bishop and Klein, and it features 2022 Ring of Honor inductee Ell Roberson III, and it recently has featured NFL Draft picks Skylar Thompson and Will Howard.
Now there's senior Avery Johnson, who's spent his career winning games and putting up historic numbers on the football field.
"I think he's the best in the country," Ellsworth says. "There's a lot of work to continue to prove that, but we have all the pieces aligned to get that done."
Ellsworth, while serving as K-State's offensive graduate assistant, helped show Johnson around when the Wichita native and five-star prospect attended games at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. Ellsworth had moved on by the time Johnson committed to the Wildcats and later felt the excitement in December when he phoned Johnson to rekindle things.
"We have a special bond that we're going to continue to build on, as both of us have played quarterback under Collin Klein," Ellsworth says, "and both of us have the understanding of the type of men that he needs in that room to help lead the program. We talked about how this is not a rebuild, but a 'win now.'
"A lot of times during change, people might assume that you're going to try to get by. We're not going to try. We're going to win it all. I'm excited to work with him and to be around him and I'll continue to push him to lead this team to success."
Months after that initial phone conversation with Johnson, Ellsworth beams with optimism over the ensuing conversations he's had with the star signal-caller at the Vanier Family Football Complex.
"Obviously, I've been tuned into what K-State has done the last few years," Ellsworth says. "I've been gone four seasons but being able to watch him grow from that Texas Tech game as a true freshman to now, we're talking together about how we can take those steps forward. It's been awesome watching him grow as a leader on and off the field. He's incredibly smart. He wants to be challenged as well. That's the phase we're in right now, is, 'How are we going to help you continue to improve day in and day out and find ways to truly attack?'
"That's our mantra: Let's attack."
Conversely, the mantra assuredly is not: Let's fine tune.
"It's not start from scratch, it's improve upon what he already has and is," Ellsworth says. "In this phase of his career, you're not going to take a ton of tweaks from a technical standpoint. For him, it's more about looking at mistakes or learning opportunities from years past and continuing to grow."
Johnson is one of three signal-callers in K-State history with 5,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards in a career. Johnson is tied No. 1 all-time with 48 touchdown passes and ranks No. 4 all-time with 1,378 rushing yards as a quarterback, No. 5 with 6,954 yards of total offense, No. 5 with 210.7 total offensive yards per game, No. 5 with 5,576 passing yards, and No. 7 with 159.0 passing yards per game.
Johnson's 26 career starts are tied for sixth by a K-State quarterback since 1990, and his 16 victories as a starting quarterback ranks eighth.
"He's one of the most gifted players in the country throwing the football and running the football," Ellsworth says. "For him, it's not trying to do too much, not being Superman, but also understanding he has a unique skillset and he's dynamic, so when the ball in his hands he can truly change the game every single play. He can trust his ability and the people around him and trust us as a staff that we're going to put him into positions to go be elite, which is what he is."
Johnson leads a hungry quarterback room for the Wildcats that features fellow senior Jacob Knuth, sophomore Blake Barnett and redshirt freshman Dillion Duff.
Knuth played a combined eight snaps in two appearances against Kansas and Texas and had a 40-yard run against the Jayhawks last season. In 2024, he completed a nine-yard pass against both UT Martin and BYU.
Barnett, in the first action of his career, used his 6-foot-1, 215-pound frame in the running game with 14 carries for 40 yards on designed run over a span of four contests last season.
Duff redshirted last season.
"From Jacob Knuth, one of the older hats in the room, to Blake Barnett and Dillion Duff, those suckers are competitive and they compete every single rep," Ellsworth says. "We're in the middle of our conditioning phase and it's been great to see those guys jump to the front of the line. Avery is pretty fast, but those other guys aren't afraid of the competition and want to jump in and compete and push him to his limits. It's been great to watch. They're going to be in a battle."
The first battle of the Klein era at K-State will arrive on September 5 when the Wildcats face Nicholls at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. Every moment leading up to kickoff will draw cheers.
Ellsworth is confident that the cheers will only continue when Johnson takes the field for the first offensive series of his final season.
"It's going to be an exciting moment," Ellsworth says. "That first 10 minutes before the start of the game is going to be such a special time for everybody. I'm getting goosebumps thinking about it. I'm looking forward to seeing Collin lead the team down the tunnel and into a stadium where his name is and where he's had so much success on the field, and I'm looking forward to hearing Bill Snyder Family Stadium explode in cheers when Avery comes out there.
"I know there's a lot of anticipation for the product we put on the field. On September 5, there'll be a lot of anxious people about what we're going to be. It's going to be really exciting, but we're not going to shy away from the moment. We're ready for it, we will be ready for it, and we're confident Avery is going to lead us to wins because that's who he is."
Ellsworth pauses.
"He's one of the best in the country."
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