Why Chris Klieman thinks Kansas State has two quality quarterbacks behind Will Howard

It’s been a while since the Kansas State football team entered a season without knowing exactly who was going to lead the offense as starting quarterback in Week 1.
Chris Klieman anointed Skylar Thompson as QB1 well before he coached his first game with the Wildcats in 2019. And Thompson remained atop of the depth chart for the next two seasons before Adrian Martinez transferred in from Nebraska and took over the job. Now it’s time for Will Howard to assume the role of unquestioned starter.
Still, there has been no shortage of drama at the position. Injuries took a toll on both Thompson and Martinez, which is why Howard has started 15 games despite never once being the guy everyone expected to see at quarterback.
“You don’t always make it through a season,” Klieman said. “You better have two or three guys at quarterback. Other than, I think, my first year here in 2019 we have had to play two or three guys.”
For that reason, K-State fans will pay close attention to the position battle that goes on behind Howard for the title of QB2 during preseason camp.
Will the Wildcats go with Avery Johnson or Jake Rubley?
That promises to be a good question for Klieman to answer at some point next month.
Johnson is a talented freshman from Maize who turned heads throughout spring practice with his mixture of arm strength and speed. Expectations are high for one of the most celebrated recruits that K-State has landed in recent memory.
But Rubley also has loads of potential. The former four-star recruit is now a redshirt-sophomore in Manhattan and he is eager to show what he can do in live games after getting a taste for college football last season, as he completed four of five passes for 42 yards while playing in four games.
Klieman hasn’t declared an early favorite in the position battle, but he is excited to see how it plays out. No matter what happens, he thinks K-State finally has enough talent in its quarterback room to not worry all that much about things like injuries.
“I think it’s really good and it’s led by one of the greatest men in college football, Collin Klein,” Klieman said. “I sit in that room a lot and I throw in my defensive knowledge at them periodically. It’s just a really healthy, strong room with good competition and a bunch of guys that really care for each other and learning.”
Rubley seems to have an advantage for the lead backup spot because he has more experience than Johnson.
K-State also let him take more snaps than usual with the first-string offense during spring practices. The Wildcats feel good about him.
“Rubley is gaining more and more confidence,” Klieman said. “I thought he had a really good spring, excellent spring, and threw the ball well and understood what we were doing. He has been in the system now a little bit longer. He took a lot more reps this spring because we took some off of Will. So I’m excited about Rubley’s development. I think he can be a guy.”
Johnson appears to have more long-term potential than his teammates as perhaps the K-State QB of the future — after Howard. The question with him is how quickly he can master a complicated Big 12 offense.
Klieman has suggested it might not take as long you think. He says Johnson is well ahead of where he was expected to be at this point in his college career.
“The drive, internally, that kid has, not just from the physical standpoint but more importantly from the mental standpoint, is what has impressed me the most,” Klieman said.
He spends more time watching film than some seniors on the K-State roster. Klieman says Johnson knocks on the door of his office every week asking to break down plays and study formations. Johnson wants to know why defenses are blitzing in certain situations and disguising coverage schemes in others so he can be ready to be at his best whenever his time comes.
“That is where he is ahead of where a lot of the younger kids are,” Klieman said, “because they’ve never been exposed to that. He is learning very quickly.”