Since Will Howard entered the transfer portal in December of last season, every Kansas State coach, player, and fan knew that Avery Johnson would take the starting quarterback role in the 2024 season.
There was never going to be a quarterback battle, there was never going to be a question that Johnson would be the starter this season. Once Johnson signed at Kansas State, Chris Klieman knew he would be the future of this program and he proved that every chance he got on the field in 2023.
So heading into the 2024 season, the battle has not been about who will be the starting quarterback, but who will be the backup for Johnson. In the beginning, it was a battle between redshirt freshman Minnesota quarterback Jacob Knuth and true freshman Blake Barnett. While both guys are great, Klieman knew he needed some experience in the battle.
Klieman went out and found experience in Connecticut graduate transfer Ta'Quan Robinson who has only 11 career starts but at Nebraska and Penn State combined.
Barnett and Knuth are leading the battle right now, but they have a bit of a leg up by getting to K-State sooner than Robinson. However, Robinson's experience can help in knowing how to learn a system fast.
Another great asset that Robinson brings to the battle is that he can be like a mentor to the younger guys and teach them a lot to better their game in the future. Even though he is in a battle, Klieman has talked a lot about how he has worked well with the other guys and helped teach them when he had the chance.
Right now it seems like Robinson is leading the competition with Knuth behind him and could be named the backup quarterback at any moment, but Klieman is choosing to hold that decision close to his chest. He knows that both guys are very talented and either one could be the backup and he feels like naming a backup could take some time.