Kansas State football quarterback Avery Johnson talks about his game
Kansas State true freshman quarterback Avery Johnson discusses his performance in a 38-21 victory over Texas Tech.
MANHATTAN — It has been a tumultuous couple of weeks for Kansas State’s football program, but at least Wildcat fans can rest easy that their future quarterback is staying put.
Freshman Avery Johnson, who will start at quarterback against North Carolina State in the Pop-Tarts Bowl on Dec. 28 in Orlando, Florida, showed in a social media post on Thursday that he is in it for the long haul.
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A video on the K-State football social media account showed Johnson announcing that he is switching from his current No. 5 jersey to the No. 2 he wore at Maize High School.
“For me, it’s never been just a number,” Johnson says in the video, that not only reveals a new jersey and helmet sticker, but also shows clips of him in a No. 2 jersey dating back to his youth football days. “It’s a mentality, an attitude. It’s a tradition.
“And although my number changed, our mission hasn’t.”
Kansas State freshman quarterback Avery Johnson puts the Wildcats on his back
That is positive news for the Wildcats, who since their 42-35 loss to Iowa State in the regular season finale have seen 13 players, including starting quarterback Will Howard and two backups, enter the transfer portal, and then earlier this week offensive coordinator Collin Klein take a similar job at Texas A&M.
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Klein’s departure raised concerns that Johnson might follow him out the door, given their close relationship. Klein was instrumental in landing Johnson, one of the Wildcats’ highest-rated in-state recruits ever.
Johnson became the de facto starter when Howard entered the portal to pursue his fifth year of eligibility elsewhere, but he already showed during the regular season that he is up for the challenge.
Kansas State football quarterbacks Will Howard and Avery Johnson in dead heat for QB1 job
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After Howard struggled in a loss at Oklahoma State in early October, Johnson had a breakout game the following week at Texas Tech, coming off the bench to rush for 90 yards and five touchdowns, plus complete 8 of 9 passes for 77 yards. While Howard eventually solidified his position again, the two were listed as co-starters on the depth chart the rest of the season.
Johnson, who completed 65.7% of his passes for 301 yards and three touchdowns, plus ran for 225 yards and six scores, will wear the No. 2 jersey in the bowl game. That number previously belonged to Jake Rubley, one of the three quarterbacks to enter the portal.
Arne Green is based in Salina and covers Kansas State University sports for the Gannett network. He can be reached at agreen@gannett.com or on Twitter at @arnegreen.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – On Wednesday, a Kansas City jury sided with a former communications director over being forced out by city manager Brian Platt. A day later, Platt has been suspended.
Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas announced on Thursday evening that he had suspended Platt with pay, effective immediately.
FILE — Kansas City Manager Brian Platt.(Free to use)
A dayslong trial ended with the jury taking the side of former Kansas City Communications Director Chris Hernandez and awarded him $700,000.
A lawsuit centered on whether City Manager Brian Platt told staff to lie to the media – and to the public – in 2022. Hernandez said he was demoted when he pushed back.
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In March 2024, Platt signed a nearly 4.5-year contract extension after he dropped out of the race for Austin, Texas, City Manager.
Lucas relayed that he was temporarily appointing Deputy City Manager Kimiko Gilmore as interim city manager.
Editor’s Note: This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
The parents of two of three deceased Kansas City Chiefs fans, whose bodies were found frozen in a friend’s backyard, expressed mixed feelings following the arrests of two men charged with manslaughter on Wednesday.
Ricky Johnson Jr., 38, David Harrington, 37, and Clayton McGeeney, 36, were found dead in their pal Jordan Willis’ backyard on Jan. 9, 2024.
Harrington’s mom, Theresa, claimed she’s been kept out of the loop in the 14 months since the trio’s bodies were discovered.
David Harrington with his father, Jon Harrington. Facebook / Theresa Harrington
“They wouldn’t tell me anything,” she told the Daily Mail.
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She said Kansas police officials continuously stated they weren’t investigating the deaths as homicides.
“[The statements] made it easy to think they had already made up their mind and there wouldn’t be any further investigation,” Harrington added, saying she pushed away any hope for criminal charges.
On Wednesday, Platte County prosecutors charged Willis and another man, Ivory Carson, each with three counts of manslaughter and two counts of delivering a controlled substance.
Johnson’s father, Rick, has since vowed to attend each hearing involving Willis and Carson.
“I am happy with the Platte County Prosecutor’s Office and the Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department for filling charges,” he told Fox 4 Kansas City. “It’s been a long time. And I’ll be at every court date.”
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David Harrington, Claytoon McGeeney and Ricky Johnson were found dead at Jordan Willis’ home on Jan. 9, 2024. Ricky Johnson / FacebookDavid Harrington’s parents, Theresa and Jon. Facebook / Theresa Harrington
The trio’s bodies were found on Willis’ property by McGenney’s fiancée two days after they gathered to watch the Chiefs’ final regular season game.
They died from a deadly cocktail of fentanyl and cocaine, Platte County Prosecutor Eric Zahnd revealed during a press conference streamed on KMBC.
Willis, an HIV researcher, claims he went to bed in the early hours of Jan. 8 and didn’t know the three men were outside.
He also claimed he didn’t hear the relatives of the men knocking on his door before their bodies were discovered because he was wearing headphones.
Police recovered two bags of drugs, one containing cocaine, the other fentanyl.
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DNA samples from the bag of cocaine were mostly from Willis, while Carson’s DNA was found all over the bag of fentanyl, Zahnd said Wednesday.
Police say they found texts on Willis’ phone alleging Carson supplied David Harrington with cocaine. Carson later admitted selling cocaine to the trio.
“Jordan maintains that he is not responsible for purchasing or supplying the drugs that led to the deaths of his three friends,” Willis’ attorney John Picerno told the Kansas City Star after the arrest. “We are very much looking forward to the day a jury gets to hear all of the evidence in this case.”
Jordan Willis was charged with involuntary manslaughter and delivery of a controlled substance. Platte County Sheriff’s OfficeIvory Carson and Willis were booked into Platte County Jail Wednesday and held on $100,000 bonds. Platte County Sheriff’s Office
The arrests did little to clear any speculation surrounding the deaths.
“[I] still don’t know anything about how my son died or his last moments,” Harrington said.
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The grieving mother isn’t convinced any outcome in the mystery will come soon, claiming the trial won’t start for more than a year.
Police say they found texts on Willis’ phone alleging Carson supplied David Harrington with cocaine. Family Handout
Theresa Harrington had acknowledged her son’s drug use but believed he didn’t do it to harm himself.
“He didn’t take that to die,” she told NewsNations’ Chris Cuomo in February 2024. “If he took the drugs on his own, he took them to get high. It just means that there’s more to the story, there’s more to it than just that.”
Harrington assured her son wasn’t a drug addict and pointed blame at “peer pressure.”
Police recovered two bags of drugs from Willis’ house, one containing cocaine, the other fentanyl. LP Media
Willis and Carson are being held at the Platte County Jail on $100,000 bonds each.
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No court hearings were scheduled for the two men following their arrest Wednesday afternoon.
CINCINNATI (AP) — David N’Guessan had 18 points and 10 rebounds, Dug McDaniel added 13 points, and Kansas State defeated Cincinnati 54-49 on Wednesday night.
N’Guessan scored eight points and McDaniel scored six in a key stretch of the second half in which K-State (15-15, 9-10 Big 12) outscored Cincinnati 14-8 to build a seven-point lead. The run culminated in a layup and a jumper by N’Guessan and a jumper from McDaniel to give the Wildcats a 52-45 lead with four minutes remaining.
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The Wildcats cooled off and their next four possessions resulted in a turnover and three missed shots while two baskets by Jizzle James got Cincinnati within 52-49.
Kansas State finally scored again when Brendan Hausen made two free throws for a 54-49 lead with 22 seconds left. Cincinnati missed a 3-pointer, N’Guessan missed the front end of the bonus, and Cincinnati missed another 3-pointer as time ran out.
Cincinnati led by seven with 14 1/2 minutes left in the second half before Kansas State’s 8-0 run gave the Wildcats a 36-35 lead with 12 minutes remaining, their first lead since 4-2.
Day Day Thomas had 12 points and James 10 for Cincinnati (17-13, 7-12).
Kansas State has won back-to-back games for the first time since Feb. 8 and 11.
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With one game left in the regular season, Kansas State is tied with West Virginia and TCU for eighth place. Cincinnati and UCF are tied for 12th.
Kansas State hosts No. 10 Iowa State on Saturday. Cincinnati visits Oklahoma State, also on Saturday.
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