MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State sophomore quarterback Avery Johnson was rewarded for his play in K-State’s 31-7 home win over No. 20 Arizona last Friday as he was named to the Davey O’Brien Award Great 8 List, the award’s committee announced Monday.
With the inclusion on the list, Johnson is now on the watch list for the Davey O’Brien Award, the second-straight year a Wildcat has been on the watch list for the award that honors the nation’s best quarterback. Previous K-State candidates for the award include Chad May (1994 finalist), Matt Miller (1995 finalist), Michael Bishop (1998 winner), Collin Klein (2012 finalist), Jake Waters (2014 semifinalist) Jesse Ertz (2017 preseason candidate) and Will Howard (2023 preseason candidate).
Leading K-State to its first non-conference home win against a ranked opponent since 2002, Johnson went 14-of-23 through the air for 156 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions, but he did more of his damage on the ground by rushing for 110 yards on 17 carries. It was the most rushing yards by a K-State quarterback since Howard went for 125 yards against Oklahoma State in 2020.
Johnson tossed a career-long 48-yard pass in the game that also saw him throw two touchdown passes for the fourth-straight contest dating back to last year’s Pop-Tarts Bowl win over NC State.
The Wildcats, ranked 13th in this week’s Associated Press Top 25, open their Big 12 slate on Saturday night in a 9:30 p.m. (CT) contest at BYU. The game will be shown on ESPN.
