Four-star quarterback Avery Johnson reaffirms his commitment to Kansas State

K-StateOnline was on hand for Maize quarterback Avery Johnson’s first game of the season on Saturday afternoon that turned out to be a 78-7 thumping over Topeka High. Johnson accounted for four touchdowns in the first quarter and did not play the whole second half of the contest.

“I’ve kind of been preparing for this game obviously and Coach [Collin] Klein has been preparing for his game against South Dakota, but he never fails to reach out and just tell me he cares about me and asks to get on the phone and stuff,” Johnson said. “I think we’re going to get on the phone tomorrow (September 4). Coach [Josh] Buford and [Taylor] Braet pretty much hit my phone every week talking about getting other guys to come and different types of stuff like that.”

“They’ve stayed in great contact and I can’t wait to get up there next week for their game against Missouri,” he added.

The four-star quarterback provided a peek of who Kansas State has at the top of their big board.

“Trying to get at John Randle,” Johnson pointed out. “I’ve been around him, trying to talk to him a little bit. He’s kind of a hard guy to get in contact with. Obviously, they tried to get Ja’Kobi Lane and he committed to USC. They sent out an offer to Rashid Williams, who’s currently committed to Washington. But I’ve been talking to him and threw to him at Elite 11, and I had been talking to him back when Washington was recruiting me. I feel like we may get a chance for him to flip because of his relationship with me, but I’m unsure.”

“Adam Hopkins from Georgia is another receiver they’re really high on, and I think we’re really close on him,” he continued. “He should be coming to the the week three game on an official. BJ [Canady] didn’t play today and has a lot more of the recruiting process to go through, but he’s a huge kid. I’m sad we didn’t get to play against him today to see what he could really do. Hopefully he gets a speedy recovery and is a Wildcat one day too.”

Johnson is also in constant contact with the current 2023 commits on a regular basis.

“We have a group chat and we talk in it weekly,” he shared. “I really like the guys. I’m pretty sure a majority are coming to the Missouri game and getting to meet them and be around them will be fun. We text in there everyday, send Snapchats and things like that and wish each other good luck. It’s a lot of good vibes in there and just being in it is really fun. The guys I know I love and the guys I don’t know I’m looking forward to getting to know.”

A few schools have reached out to Johnson since he committed to K-State, but he remains locked in with the Wildcats.

“Reaching out to me recently was Florida State and Notre Dame,” he admitted. “Ole Miss kind of reached out, but I’m not too sure on any of those schools. I kind of made my decision, and I’m going to stick with it. I’m pretty sure everybody kind of knows that. I said I’m locked in and I’m a man of my word. I’m really excited for K-State and what that future holds.”

While he will be visiting for the Missouri game, look for the Maize quarterback to be a mainstay at most Kansas State home games.

Klein and Johnson’s relationship is one of the reasons he committed to K-State. They understand each other’s situations and that both are beginning quite a grind that is the 2022 campaign. Knowing the preparation and work that goes into it has created a mutual respect between the two.

“Biggest thing is I know he has a season to look forward to and he knows I have a season to look forward to,” Johnson noted. “He’s not bombarding me and I’m not bombarding him. He knows where I stand and I knows where he stands. He does his best to communicate with me and I’m not a person who needs you to text me everyday that you still love me. I committed to you because of who you showed you were during the recruiting process. I know that’s the kind of person you are. Continuously talking once a week or once every two weeks is great and that’s what we try to do, but if we don’t talk every week I’m not going to say ‘oh my god Coach Klein doesn’t love me anymore’. I know he has a lot of things to worry about and to prepare for the next defense and so do I. I’m glad we’re on the same page.”

Finally, Johnson revealed some things he was looking forward to from the Wildcats this season.

“See how the players like it up there and see a lot of winning,” he answered. “I feel like this year they have a great roster and I’m excited to see what their quarterbacks do and seeing their offense evolve. This will be the first year fully running Coach Klein’s new offense. I’m excited to see all that comes into play and see a lot of winning.”

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