Kansas State’s Avery Johnson is the present and future for the Wildcats’ Playoff hopes
When NC State defensive coordinator
Tony Gibson was preparing his team for its matchup against Kansas State in the Pop-Tarts Bowl, Gibson, one of the nation’s best DCs, thought hard about Avery Johnson. He knew that Johnson was fast, but once the game got rolling, Gibson realized game film didn’t do justice to just how fast the Wildcats’ young quarterback really is.
“He’s really dangerous,” Gibson told The Athletic. “He’s got elite speed. That kid can freakin’ go. He is like fast fast. We got guys that can run, and he killed us in the bowl game. He’s gonna be a handful for people to defend.”
Making his first college start, Johnson, a true freshman, threw two touchdown passes and ran for a third, along with 71 yards on the ground to win MVP honors while leading Kansas State to a 28-19 victory.
Gibson had a front-row seat for some of the fastest quarterbacks the game has ever seen when he was a defensive assistant at West Virginia and Michigan
— that’s when he’d see Pat White and Denard Robinson at practice every day.
“I don’t know if he’s in that category, but he’s right there,” Gibson said.
It’s worth noting that both of those dynamic dual-threat quarterbacks had breakout seasons in their second year of college football. Don’t be shocked if Inhnann makac a cimilar imnart at
