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MANHATTAN — Avery Johnson and Collin Klein exchanged their hugs at the Kansas State football facility upon the latter's hiring as head coach. The two are reunited, and Johnson chose to play his final season of eligibility in a Wildcats uniform.
The celebration around the reunion, when Klein played a large part in recruiting Johnson to Manhattan before he departed to become Texas A&M's offensive coordinator, has come and gone. The focus now shifts to the football field, where Klein will try to make up for lost time and elevate Johnson to the quarterback everyone thinks he can be.
At the end of their second spring camp together, their first since 2023, Klein spoke to the growth he saw in Johnson, particularly late in camp, when Johnson began to build better chemistry with his newer wide receivers.
"I think we've taken a little bit of a step here the last couple of days, but there's more out there," Klein said. "With his expectations in himself and all of us... There's more in us."
Johnson thought he had a "really good spring," noting that some days had their ups and downs, but appreciated the chance to grow. All he's concerned about is getting better each day and learning from mistakes.
The learning curve hasn't been too steep as he reacclimates to Klein's offense. During his four years at K-State, he's had four different offensive coordinators or co-offensive coordinators, along with three different quarterbacks coaches.
Johnson said the verbiage in Klein's offense is the only thing that has changed since his two years at Texas A&M, aside from a few new schemes.
"The offense has evolved, and it's been tough, but I think learning a whole new offense would be a lot harder," Johnson said. "It's been pretty good and pretty seamless for the most part."
New offensive coordinator Sean Gleeson has been in awe of Johnson's speed at the position, but has been pleasantly surprised by the quarterback's ability to move effectively within the pocket as a mobile quarterback; he hasn't seen Johnson be "skittish" and feel the need to take off and run unnecessarily.
Gleeson has still been able to see the play-making ability that makes Johnson one of the more explosive players at the position in college football.
"Avery does a really good job at being able to make explosive plays at quarterback and just subtly move and still be a thrower, even when there's some trash around his feet," Gleeson said. "I think he has a really cool balance of play-making ability and pocket movement that's needed when you want to be a great downfield thrower."
Johnson spoke of the enhanced freedom he'll have in Klein's offense, which he said he likes most. He'll get a chance to use his instincts and "not be robotic," allowing him to take off when he notices that he has room to run. At other times, he believes Klein will scheme up open plays as the "offensive mastermind" he thinks his coach is.
That should bode well for Johnson, who saw his numbers drop from 2024 to 2025, both on the ground and through the air. Meanwhile, Klein had Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed in the College Football Playoff, excelling as both a thrower and a runner.
Now that the celebration around the reunion has come and gone, it's all about making sure Johnson is in a position to lead the Wildcats on a possible CFP run.
"When it comes down to it, we need to do the little things right and play hard for all four quarters," Johnson said. "Anybody can beat anybody in this league, and we can't think anybody's gonna lay over us. We need to come down with the underdog mentality every game, not overlook anybody, and come out strong and start fast."
Wyatt D. Wheeler covers Kansas State athletics for the USA TODAY Network and Topeka Capital-Journal. You can follow him on X at @WyattWheeler_, contact him at 417-371-6987 or email him at [email protected]
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Avery Johnson wants high expectations during final year at K-State
Continue reading...
The celebration around the reunion, when Klein played a large part in recruiting Johnson to Manhattan before he departed to become Texas A&M's offensive coordinator, has come and gone. The focus now shifts to the football field, where Klein will try to make up for lost time and elevate Johnson to the quarterback everyone thinks he can be.
At the end of their second spring camp together, their first since 2023, Klein spoke to the growth he saw in Johnson, particularly late in camp, when Johnson began to build better chemistry with his newer wide receivers.
"I think we've taken a little bit of a step here the last couple of days, but there's more out there," Klein said. "With his expectations in himself and all of us... There's more in us."
Johnson thought he had a "really good spring," noting that some days had their ups and downs, but appreciated the chance to grow. All he's concerned about is getting better each day and learning from mistakes.
The learning curve hasn't been too steep as he reacclimates to Klein's offense. During his four years at K-State, he's had four different offensive coordinators or co-offensive coordinators, along with three different quarterbacks coaches.
Johnson said the verbiage in Klein's offense is the only thing that has changed since his two years at Texas A&M, aside from a few new schemes.
"The offense has evolved, and it's been tough, but I think learning a whole new offense would be a lot harder," Johnson said. "It's been pretty good and pretty seamless for the most part."
New offensive coordinator Sean Gleeson has been in awe of Johnson's speed at the position, but has been pleasantly surprised by the quarterback's ability to move effectively within the pocket as a mobile quarterback; he hasn't seen Johnson be "skittish" and feel the need to take off and run unnecessarily.
Gleeson has still been able to see the play-making ability that makes Johnson one of the more explosive players at the position in college football.
"Avery does a really good job at being able to make explosive plays at quarterback and just subtly move and still be a thrower, even when there's some trash around his feet," Gleeson said. "I think he has a really cool balance of play-making ability and pocket movement that's needed when you want to be a great downfield thrower."
Johnson spoke of the enhanced freedom he'll have in Klein's offense, which he said he likes most. He'll get a chance to use his instincts and "not be robotic," allowing him to take off when he notices that he has room to run. At other times, he believes Klein will scheme up open plays as the "offensive mastermind" he thinks his coach is.
That should bode well for Johnson, who saw his numbers drop from 2024 to 2025, both on the ground and through the air. Meanwhile, Klein had Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed in the College Football Playoff, excelling as both a thrower and a runner.
Now that the celebration around the reunion has come and gone, it's all about making sure Johnson is in a position to lead the Wildcats on a possible CFP run.
"When it comes down to it, we need to do the little things right and play hard for all four quarters," Johnson said. "Anybody can beat anybody in this league, and we can't think anybody's gonna lay over us. We need to come down with the underdog mentality every game, not overlook anybody, and come out strong and start fast."
Wyatt D. Wheeler covers Kansas State athletics for the USA TODAY Network and Topeka Capital-Journal. You can follow him on X at @WyattWheeler_, contact him at 417-371-6987 or email him at [email protected]
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Avery Johnson wants high expectations during final year at K-State
Continue reading...
