Kansas State will be without QB Adrian Martinez and one key defender at West Virginia

The lower-body injury that Adrian Martinez suffered during Kansas State’s 31-3 victory over Baylor was more severe than originally expected.

After initially saying that Martinez could have returned to action against the Bears at less than 100% health, football coach Chris Klieman shared a discouraging injury update on Martinez during his weekly news conference on Tuesday as the Wildcats prepared for their next game against West Virginia.

“He is not available this week,” Klieman said. “He will not be playing this week.”

It is unclear how long Martinez will remain sidelined, but Klieman said he will not miss the remainder of the season. That leaves the door open for Martinez to play in K-State’s bowl game or maybe even the regular-season finale against Kansas — or potentially the Big 12 championship game on Dec. 3.

But the role of QB1 may be spoken for by then.

K-State is prepared to move forward with junior quarterback Will Howard in command of the offense.

Howard has produced at a higher level than Martinez when he has played this season, and now he will get an extended opportunity to prove he is the team’s quarterback of the future ... and the present.

“Will is going to be the guy. It’s his football team,” Klieman said. “I am excited for Will. Everybody knows Will is playing at a really high level.”

Indeed, Howard has been electric during the three games he has played this season. He has completed 53 of 84 passes for 717 yards and nine touchdowns on top of rushing for 40 yards and a score.

He led the Wildcats to a 48-0 victory over Oklahoma State earlier this year and later guided them to the 31-3 win against Baylor.

Some thought Howard had done enough to take over as the team’s full-time starting quarterback even when Martinez was healthy. Those people will get their wish this week — and potentially beyond.

Howard originally planned to redshirt this season, which meant playing in no more than four games in order to preserve an extra year of college eligibility for the future. But he is prepared to scrap that plan to help the Wildcats try and win a Big 12 championship down the stretch.

“With everything that we know is in front of us and us controlling our own destiny, it’s exciting,” Howard said. “Obviously that (redshirting) was the plan coming in, but we know that no matter what, with what is in front of us, I am ready to take over and do what I can for this team. This is what our goal has been.”

Kobe Savage out for remainder of season

The Wildcats will also be down a key member on their defense when they take on the Mountaineers at 1 p.m. inside Mulan Puskar Stadium.

Kobe Savage, a 5-foot-11 junior-college transfer safety, will miss the remainder of the season with a lower-body injury. Savage got shaken up against Baylor and was unable to return the game. He won’t be ready to participate at practice until spring at the earliest.

“We lost Kobe Savage for the year,” Klieman said. “It’s really tough because he was playing great football for us.”

Savage ends his first season at K-State with 45 tackles and three interceptions in 10 games.

Klieman said T.J. Smith and Cincere Mason will shift around on defense to replace him against West Virginia.