Arizona had no answer for K-State QB Avery Johnson: ‘This guy is something different’

Arizona football coach Brent Brennan had a plan to slow down Avery Johnson on Friday at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.

It didn’t work.

Johnson, a sophomore quarterback at Kansas State, carved up the Arizona defense in every way imaginable on his way to 156 yards and two touchdowns as a passer in addition to 110 yards as a runner. The dual-threat talents that made him a trendy preseason pick to contend for the Heisman Trophy were on full display during a 31-7 victory for the home team.

He was so good that Brennan had little choice but to give Johnson his flowers when the game was over.

“This guy is something different,” Brennan said. “He’s a 10.4 100-meter (dash) guy. He’s unique, and in those moments where we’re trying to keep him in the pocket, his ability to get outside of one person and create a big play was obviously damaging to what we were trying to get done.”

This was an important game for Johnson.

Believe it or not, some were beginning to doubt his talent as a runner. Even though he is one of the fastest quarterbacks in all of college football, he only rushed for a total of 77 yards in K-State’s first two games. Defenses were lining up tacklers to stop him from getting loose on the perimeter, and the big runs we saw from Johnson as a freshman were no longer happening.

A reporter went so far as to ask Johnson if he was running with a more timid style this season and focusing more on being a passer.

But there were no such questions after he turned 17 carries into 110 yards against Arizona. Not only did he run hard, he escaped for long runs of of 14, 17, 19 and 26 yards. Those gains moved the chains and left Arizona defenders shaking their heads.

“I feel like that’s real demoralizing for a defense,” K-State wide receiver Jayce Brown said. “I mean, you have got to account for him, too. He is another threat to the defense. It’s good having a running quarterback.”

This was the first time Johnson has eclipsed 100 rushing yards with the Wildcats.

He smiled when he saw that on the stat sheet, but tipped his hat to K-State running backs DJ Giddens and Dylan Edwards for keeping the defense off balance.

“Credit to DJ and Dylan,” Johnson said. “Defenses respect what those guys do with the football in their hands. So I never really know how teams are going to play us. It’s kind of like pick your poison. Either take me away or take DJ away and Dylan away. Arizona chose to take the running back away tonight, and it was just my job to make them pay for that.”

K-State football coach Chris Klieman was proud of everything Johnson accomplished.

It goes without saying this was his finest game since he took command of the offense.

“The quarterback is a pretty good player,” Klieman said. “He rose up tonight when we needed him to and he played really good football. He was really calm and made some plays with his feet, made some plays with his legs. That was a fun performance to watch.”