One thing Kansas State football coach Chris Klieman admires most about Avery Johnson is his relentless pursuit of perfection.
Johnson, now a junior beginning his second season as the Wildcats’ starting quarterback, simply sees it as part of the growing process.
Take last month when he attended the Manning Passing Academy in Louisiana. He was one of the elite college quarterbacks invited by proprietors and quarterbacking legends Archie, Peyton, Eli and Cooper Manning to serve as counselors.
But in typical fashion, Johnson left with more knowledge than he imparted to the young campers.
“I think the big thing is just have a routine to your day,” Johnson said of interactions with Super Bowl champions Peyton and Elit Manning and former NFL coach Jon Gruden. “Map your days out, whatever that might be, and stick to your routine. Have a schedule (and) do things the right way.”
Klieman said the eagerness to learn and willingness to put in the work are why he expects a breakout season from Johnson in 2025. Told that Johnson is focused on improving his deep throws this year, he wasn’t surprised.
“Avery is going to put pressure on himself,” said Klieman, who was joined by Johnson and four other Wildcat players Tuesday at Big 12 Media Days in Frisco, Texas. “He’s his biggest critic, which is an awesome thing because he doesn’t want to hear all the things he does great. He wants to hear the things he doesn’t do as well.
“And if somebody said he didn’t throw the deep ball well, he’s going to work on that nonstop. He’s always working on his craft.”
Johnson, who helped lead K-State to a Pop-Tarts Bowl victory over North Carolina State in his first start to end his true freshman year in 2023, was not too shabby last season either. He threw for 2,712 yards and a school-record 25 touchdowns while rushing for 605 yards and seven scores as the Wildcats went 9-4 and beat Rutgers in the Rate Bowl.
In addition to improving his game, Johnson has also worked on expanding his role as a team leader.
“I think I made big strides this offseason,” he said. “I think I grew from year one as a starter to year two, just being able to step out in front of the team and address the team.
“Being that guy that people can come to in adverse times and really just growing as a player and a person so that when hard times do strike on that field, the guys know that they can count on me to settle them down and get things going.”
Johnson’s growth during the offseason has not been limited to leadership and knowledge. He also has added more than 10 pounds of muscle to his 6-foot-3 frame without losing a step and expects to play at over 200 pounds for the first time in 2025.
“He has taken everything very seriously in the weight room, in the nutrition (and) in the recovery aspect,” Klieman said of Johnson, who remains one of the fastest players on the team. “He’s carrying a lot more weight, and he’s faster.”
For all the film study and physical work Johnson put in over the offseason, perhaps his biggest takeaway came from Peyton Manning, a Pro Football Hall of Famer.
“He was talking about that he wasn’t the most athletic guy, so he had to be able to protect himself,” Johnson said. “He had to know where his (hot reads) were and things like that, so he knew his strengths and his weaknesses.
“He was such a smart quarterback that he was able to make up for what you might call a weakness of his, which was not being able to run fast. So, me just being able to be self-aware, figure out my strengths and weaknesses and play to my strengths more as the season goes on.”
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 X (formerly Twitter) at @arnegreen.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas State football quarterback Avery Johnson continues to grow