MANHATTAN — Kansas State quarterback Avery Johnson was listed on the Wildcats' injury report Wednesday, Oct. 21, ahead of the team's trip to Arizona State this weekend.
Johnson was listed as questionable. The Wildcats play the Sun Devils on Saturday, Oct. 24, at 2:45 p.m. CT in Tempe, Arizona.
Kansas State football coach Collin Klein did not address, and was not asked about, any injury concerns regarding his quarterback during his weekly radio show earlier in the evening.
Backup quarterback Blake Barnett and starting tight end Garrett Oakley were also listed as questionable.
Why is Avery Johnson on the availability report?
Though it's unclear what Johnson is dealing with, he notably left the Wildcats' Oct. 17 win over Kansas for one play. After a 59-yard run in the first quarter, Johnson fell awkwardly to the turf and was slow to get up. He was pulled up by both arms, and he walked to the sideline where he smiled and joked with teammates.
After missing one play, he returned to the huddle and played the rest of the game with no noticeable injury. He finished 14 of 24 for 209 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 132 yards.
"I just got the wind knocked out of me," Johnson said on Oct. 17 when he was asked if he was injured on the play. "I don't know if I can answer that or not, so I'm just going to say no."
Johnson, a third-year starter, has never missed a game due to injury during his Kansas State career.
Kansas State will release updates to its availability report Thursday and Friday night, and again 90 minutes before Saturday's kickoff.
Who is Kansas State's backup quarterback?
Backup Jacob Knuth replaced Johnson for the one play against Kansas, handing the ball to Rodney Fields for a four-yard touchdown. Knuth is a fifth-year player who entered this season having appeared in four games across three seasons in Manhattan.
This year, he's played snaps against Nicholls, Washington State and Kansas, completing one pass for seven yards, along with three rushes for 25 yards and a score.
Kansas State has dealt with backup quarterback injuries throughout this season. Barnett has been on crutches since the Wildcats' Week 1 win over Nicholls. Sophomore Dillon Duff has appeared on the injury report each week since the Wildcats' Sept. 26 loss at Cincinnati and didn't dress for the first three games.
Wyatt D. Wheeler covers Kansas State athletics for the USA TODAY Network and Topeka Capital-Journal. You can follow him on X at @WyattWheeler_, contact him at 417-371-6987 or email him at wwheeler@usatodayco.com
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas State QB Avery Johnson listed as questionable for Arizona State