K-State QB recruit Avery Johnson named 2022 Kansas Gatorade Football Player of the Year

Maize senior quarterback Avery Johnson added one final accolade to his all-time Kansas high school football career on Friday when he was named the Kansas Gatorade Football Player of the Year for the 2022 season.

Johnson finished with 2,768 passing yards, 817 rushing yards and 44 total touchdowns in leading Maize to a second straight Class 5A state championship game appearance, earning Top 11 honors in the state from The Eagle for the second straight season. He is the first Maize football player to win the prestigious Gatorade award, which also factors in “academic achievement and exemplary character” in determining the winner.

Maize football coach Gary Guzman reflected on the final accomplishment for Johnson before he heads off to Manhattan to play quarterback for Kansas State, where he has signed as the highest-rated recruit in Chris Klieman’s 2023 recruiting class.

“He’s earned all of these incredible accolades and this one is definitely a huge one, but there’s a reason for it and it’s because of his work ethic,” Guzman said. “The thing I’m always going to remember about Avery is what he brought to our team and to our school and that’s great leadership and great work ethic. He’s just a kid who took care of everything that needed to be taken care of. Academics were a priority for him. He never got a ‘B’ in school. It’s pretty amazing. Avery is the total package: a great student, a great person and a great player.”

Johnson recently played in a second high school football all-star game, playing quarterback in the Under Armour All-American game in Orlando, Fla., this past Tuesday. He was actually in the airport returning to Wichita when he discovered the news of his Gatorade award.

Johnson continued the trend of a Wichita-area player winning the award, joining Derby quarterback Lem Wash (2020) and Derby running back Dylan Edwards (2021) as recent winners.

Johnson graduated from Maize early in order to join K-State early in time for spring conditioning and practices. Guzman said he is looking forward to watching what his former quarterback can do for the Wildcats.

“K-State is getting an incredible quarterback and an incredible person,” Guzman said. “This is a kid that just having him on the field, you know he’s going to make something happen. He’s going to help that team and hopefully help K-State accomplish some things they’ve been wanting to accomplish.

“The coaches up there have talked about how Avery has helped them with recruiting, and I think he’s going to help them bring in even more dynamic players because they’re going to want to be around that coaching staff and around Avery.”