As the 2024 football season begins, there is no uncertainty as to who will be the quarterback for the Kansas State football team on the first snap of the season.
Sophomore Avery Johnson secured the starting quarterback spot many months ago after impressing coaches, teammates and fans alike all season while splitting time with Will Howard and leading the Wildcats to a bowl victory.
However, the pecking order behind Johnson remains a mystery.
There was a mass exodus from the quarterback team after last season, with Howard going to Ohio State, sophomore Jake Rubley transferring to Illinois State and redshirt freshman Adyran Lara transferring to Louisiana. That left Johnson and former Minnesota walk-on transfer Jacob Knuth as the only scholarship quarterbacks on the roster.
Knuth was a scholarship quarterback at Minnesota who was recruited by K-State’s coaches out of high school and only added to the roster because of a lack of space. He has the talent to be a more than capable replacement for Johnson, but he has no game experience, which isn’t exactly what you want when your starter has only made two starts himself.
So K-State’s coaches went searching in the transfer portal and found former Penn State and Connecticut senior signal caller Ta’Quan Roberson.
A native of Orange, New Jersey, Roberson has played in 18 games during his time at UConn and Penn State. Last season, Roberson threw for 2,075 yards and 12 touchdowns, along with 120 rushing yards and two touchdowns. The senior brings experience to the Wildcats’ quarterback room that is sorely lacking, and Knuth is a real contender for the backup quarterback spot that doesn’t include true freshmen Blake Barnett and Hudson Hutcheson.
“Me and one of the other coaches have talked about it and it’s honestly the most serious battle we’ve had for backup quarterback in a long time,” said offensive coordinator Conor Riley. “Right now, I see us wanting a little more consistency from both of them. But there’s a really tough competition between the two of them.”
“It was a really good battle between Jacob and Ta’Quan,” said co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Matt Wells. “Both of those guys are getting better and better. … The most important thing for them is to be the best version of themselves. It’s not a competition per se, against the other guy. (It’s) how can I improve today and string together great days.”
With the starting positions set, coaches gave both quarterbacks plenty of opportunity in fall training camp to show why they deserve the No. 2 spot, but the race remained relatively even, meaning the decision will be made later in the season.
“Those are two guys that have gotten a ton of reps,” Wells said. “They had, I don’t know, over 400 snaps in training camp. I think that accelerated the growth. But that’s going to be a battle that’s ongoing. I don’t know when that’s going to be decided, and it could go on all season, to be honest, and I’m glad we have them both.”
