Kansas
Oklahoma, Kansas State can imagine what might have been at QB, but did they have a choice?
Late in the second quarter Saturday, Oklahoma quarterback Jackson Arnold committed his third turnover of the night, this one a pass toward the sideline that bounced short and then off the intended receiver before being recovered by Tennessee after a mad scramble.
Arnold, a redshirt freshman and former five-star, appeared for only one more play the rest of the night, a handoff, as the Sooners fell 25-15 at home.
A few hours later, Kansas State quarterback Avery Johnson threw a pair of interceptions at BYU. The Wildcats’ final three possessions all resulted in turnovers on downs, and K-State lost 38-9, stumbling early in a season that began with Big 12 title hopes.
A frustrating evening for both programs was made more so by imagining what might have been.
Former K-State starting quarterback Will Howard is enjoying success at Ohio State, and former Oklahoma quarterback Dillon Gabriel is leading Oregon, with both teams looking like College Football Playoff contenders.
Ohio State, with quarterback Will Howard, is ranked No. 3 in the AP poll. (Jason Mowry / Getty Images)
Months later, it’s easy to point to their success in new places and the growing pains or failures of their replacements and wonder if more should have been done to keep them. Or if both programs should have kept their more experienced passer and let the chips fall where they may with highly rated prospects who didn’t want to wait long to get their turns.
But in the new era of college football, where no position is more valuable or transfers more often than quarterback, keeping two players of a certain caliber is rarely possible. Arch Manning and Quinn Ewers at Texas is an anomaly.
In reality, the scenarios are far more complex than they appear on the surface.
A season ago, there was a clear understanding at Kansas State: Howard, who led the Wildcats to the 2022 Big 12 title, would be the starter. Johnson, a four-star Kansas native and the No. 9 quarterback in the 2023 class, would be the backup. And Howard would be headed to the NFL after the season.
But as any human can attest, sometimes life’s plans go awry.
Howard struggled early, and coach Chris Klieman turned to Johnson at midseason. He played both quarterbacks, leaning on Johnson’s lightning speed and Howard’s experienced and more refined abilities as a passer.
At the end of an 8-4 regular season, Howard entered the transfer portal as a graduate transfer but also entered his name for consideration in the NFL Draft. For six weeks, he was in limbo. He’d visited USC, but Miller Moss’ stellar bowl performance made starting for Lincoln Riley there a near-impossibility.
Then Ohio State’s offense cratered behind Devin Brown in a 14-3 Cotton Bowl loss to Missouri. Less than a week later, Howard was headed to Columbus, where he won the starting job this offseason.
Gabriel’s two seasons at Oklahoma were similar. Once Arnold committed and enrolled, it was understood that Gabriel, who had started his career at UCF, would be headed to the NFL, too.
Gabriel led the Sooners to a 10-2 record and win over rival Texas, but after the 2023 season, the NFL Draft Advisory Committee examined Gabriel’s film and gave him a seventh round/undrafted grade.
“I was just devastated, Gabriel told The Athletic this offseason.
Oklahoma’s coaches were publicly supportive of Gabriel staying, but the writing was on the wall.
From Gabriel and Johnson’s perspectives, it makes no sense to stick around at a program and compete for a job when there are “guaranteed” starting spots to step into and money to be earned elsewhere.
And for as glorified as it may be to be a “team player,” who wouldn’t want to leave for a program that clearly sees you as their answer at the roster’s most important position?
Staying at their current schools means likely undercutting their own NFL value, too. A quarterback can’t cement his status as an NFL Draft pick if he’s stuck on the bench behind an underclassman. And some collectives can only spend so much on one position.
“Maybe we could pay a guy $800,000 or whatever to stay and do nothing,” said a person briefed on Kansas State’s roster decision-making, granted anonymity for their candor. “But if you have that money, are you going to use it on a backup? Or are you going to spend it on an impact receiver? Or a big-time edge rusher or an offensive tackle?”
Kansas State and Oklahoma lost offensive coordinators, too. Oklahoma’s Jeff Lebby left to become Mississippi State’s head coach. K-State’s Collin Klein went to Texas A&M.
At Ohio State, Howard is 11th nationally in passer rating. Johnson is 78th (he also rushed for 110 yards in a win over Arizona). Gabriel, who has started more than 50 college games, is ninth nationally in passer rating. Arnold is 100th. Oklahoma coach Brent Venables announced Monday he’s turning to a true freshman in Michael Hawkins Jr.
For coaches like Klieman and Venables, sticking with a more experienced quarterback might sound good in the short term, but blue-chip quarterback recruits are hard to sign everywhere. If a program gets one, it’s necessary to at least attempt to build around them, just like an NFL team does after drafting a first-round quarterback.
Sticking with an older player who they mostly know — the good and the bad — runs the risk of a program never finding out the potential of a more promising young player in the era of perpetual free agency.
And coaches would be committing to one year of what’s known rather than rolling the dice on improving the program over the next two to three years and leveraging that success into a better roster through high school recruiting or the transfer portal.
There is often fan angst about getting to see the hyped young prospect as well, along with worry that he will transfer. If Johnson hadn’t been given a clear path to the field at the school he chose out of high school, who’s to say he wouldn’t have looked for one under Klein or elsewhere?
If you can have only one, the clear choice is potential and development within the program, rather than attempting to mine the portal for a new transfer quarterback every season. How’s that working out for Notre Dame?
Roster management in college football is more complicated, with more stakeholders and variables, than ever. K-State and Oklahoma are just the latest examples of teams trying to balance awkward offseason decisions at quarterback. More choices like they made are coming.
It’s easy to pine for what they once had and easy to say they made a mistake.
Reality is simply more complex.
(Top photo of Oklahoma quarterback Jackson Arnold getting tackled by Tennessee defensive lineman Tyre West: David Stacy / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The vertical video gold rush has pulled in one of the biggest players in traditional media — the NFL. Or at least, one of its marquee franchises.
The Kansas City Chiefs are diving into the micro-series realm with a comedy called El Offseason. The Spanish-language show will follow the misadventures of four (fictional) team employees whose offseason months spiral into chaos. The team says the nine-episode series will combine elements of sketch comedy with the wild plot twists of a telenovela.
El Offseason is set to premiere June 12 in the United States, Mexico and Spain. As part of the NFL’s global markets program, the Chiefs have marketing rights in the latter two countries (along with several other franchises), hence the Spanish-language effort. A trailer for the series is below.
“This is exactly the kind of storytelling opportunity the offseason creates,” said Lauren Denowitz, vp brand marketing and fan engagement for the team. “When the games stop, the connection matters even more. El Offseason lets us show up for our fans in a way that feels fun, culturally relevant, and completely different from anything we’ve done before — while still staying true to who we are.”
The Chiefs have made a concerted push into entertainment in recent years. The team launched a production studio in early 2025. The team was also featured in a 2024 Hallmark holiday movie and an ESPN docuseries called The Kingdom.
Argentinian filmmaker Sebastián “Mega” Díaz directs and co-writes El Offseason. The Chiefs are producing the series with La Doble, fable.works and Samba Digital; the latter is the team’s social agency in Mexico and Spain. The series will run on YouTube in the United States and on Instagram, TikTok and Facebook internationally. Episodes will debut on Tuesdays and Fridays.
“As the NFL grows its presence in the U.S. and abroad, we continue to focus on meaningful engagement with our fans,” said NFL chief marketing officer Tim Ellis. “The Kansas City Chiefs’ El Offseason reflects a league-wide commitment to develop creative storytelling that authentically connects with our Latino fans in the U.S. and Spanish-speaking communities worldwide, bringing them closer to the game while building excitement for the season ahead.”
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (KCTV) – Two brothers running a lemonade stand received an unexpected boost this week when Kansas City Kansas police and firefighters responded to a call about their operation.
Parez and Jakkhi Reese have been selling lemonade, Kool-Aid and snacks at 33rd and Webster for years. But this week, someone called 911 to report the boys selling lemonade on the corner.
When officers and firefighters arrived, they did not shut down the stand. Instead, they became its best customers.
Officers rally support
Officer Morgan Reed was among the first to arrive during the afternoon shift. She immediately began calling colleagues to encourage them to stop by.
“I was calling everybody, yeah. I was just calling everybody — hey, make sure you guys stop by the lemonade stand. And then just whenever they were busy, a couple people were able to swing by,” Reed said.
The calls worked. In about 30 minutes, dozens of officers purchased lemonade and Kool-Aid from the brothers. The sales totaled $280.
More than money
For Parez and Jakkhi, the experience meant more than the revenue.
“It means a lot because they gave us like… a big sticker to use on our shirts. And they was like — now you’re an official police officer,” the brothers said.
Reed returned the next day and spent another $40. She said moments like this represent what community policing should look like.
“I think as a lot of us, we’re kids growing up in this city. And this was the thing that we always looked forward to as kids, is these friendly police interactions,” Reed said.
Goals beyond the stand
Parez said his motivation extends beyond collecting badge stickers.
“I just wanted to like help the homeless and buy me a new e-bike because that has been my dream since I was little,” Parez said.
Jakkhi said he plans to use his share to buy diapers for his nephew and niece.
The brothers said they will continue operating the stand throughout the summer. Reed said she will likely return again.
Both boys were invited to attend a free boys and girls football camp put on by the Kansas City Kansas Police Department. More information is available at this link.
Copyright 2026 KCTV. All rights reserved.
KSHB 41 reporter Grant Stephens covers downtown Kansas City, Missouri. He also focuses on stories of consumer interest. Share your story idea with Grant.
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Kansas City’s Crossroads Arts District has a new attraction opening ahead of one of the world’s biggest sporting events.
Kansas City’s Crossroads Arts District gets a new media tech museum ahead of the World Cup
The Media Tech Museum opened Monday, bringing more than 1,000 rare and historic media devices – some dating back to the 1860s – to the heart of downtown.
Owner Jon Trozzolo said the timing was no accident.
“To open this museum was strategic, by design. We’ve been planning on this, we’ve been budgeting for it, and working diligently, 10, 12, 14, hours a day for the last six months to be open before the World Cup, but also to be open before summer,” Trozzolo said.
The museum is located just a block from a KC Streetcar stop and surrounded by hotels and the convention center – a location Trozzolo carefully chose for maximum visibility and foot traffic. It opened just days before FIFA World Cup fans arrive in the city.
“This museum is going to benefit tremendously from the World Cup and the huge audience and the huge traffic that it’s going to generate. However, that’s only temporary,” Trozzolo said.
Trozzolo walked through some of the collection, which spans the history of how media technology has shaped everyday life.
“A lot of these devices tell a story. My grandfather used to listen to the Royals game on that radio. My grandma used to use that kind of crank phone when she was in a rural area,” Trozzolo said.
The museum traces the arc of electronic communication across generations.
“How we communicate electronically from the telegraph to the telephone to the phonograph to the radio, the wireless radio, the CB radio … the list goes on and on and on that directly affect our personal life as well as our professional life,” Trozzolo said.
Trozzolo said the museum fills a gap in the city’s cultural landscape.
“I wanted to do this because there’s nothing like this in Kansas City,” Trozzolo said.
He hopes the museum will become more than a temporary stop for World Cup tourists – aiming to make it a year-round destination for students, visitors, and anyone curious about how media technology has transformed the way we connect.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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