Why Kansas State football players have ‘utmost confidence’ in backup QB Will Howard

The combination of Adrian Martinez only lasting a single drive and Will Howard playing one of his best games in a Kansas State football uniform against TCU made it easy to suspect that the Wildcats prepared their backup quarterback for the possibility of a larger-than-usual role on Saturday.

But that was most definitely not the case.

“Adrian took all the reps with the ones,” K-State football coach Chris Klieman said afterward. “That is just Will Howard. He has played so much football. Will has learned an awful lot from his time with Adrian, from his time with Skylar (Thompson) and Will is a good player. He was confident. The thing I like about Will is that the team plays confident when he is in there.”

Howard seems to have improved as a quarterback since we last saw him play meaningful snaps in a K-State football game.

It was impossible to tell he was the team’s backup when he took over for an injured Martinez and immediately led the Wildcats on four consecutive touchdown drives and a 28-10 lead against the Horned Frogs. He completed 13 of 20 passes for 225 yards and two scores. He connected with Kade Warner and Malik Knowles for highlight gains. He also rushed for 31 yards and a touchdown.

Eventually, he cooled off and had to leave the game for two drives in the second half with an injury to his throwing shoulder. But he did more than enough to prove he is capable of leading the offense should Martinez remain on the sideline in K-State’s next game against Oklahoma State.

“Utmost confidence,” K-State running back Deuce Vaughn said. “The first thing I told him when we found out Adrian wouldn’t be able to go was, ‘We have done this before. We are just a little bit older this time.’ To go out there and see him compete like that and play like that, that’s what we see in practice. He played his tail off for this football team.”

It’s been a strange years for Howard.

The junior quarterback started 10 games in his first two seasons when Thompson was unable to play, but his path to the full-time starting job was closed when the Wildcats landed Martinez as a transfer out of Nebraska. Howard was relegated to backup duty, but his chances for playing time have been more limited than usual because he hopes to play in fewer than five games and preserve a year of eligibility with a redshirt.

That is why Jake Rubley has played at the end of recent blowouts instead of Howard. Coaches ask him to prepare every week as if he is the starter, but the odds of Howard seeing action have never been lower. He took his first snap of the season on Saturday only after Martinez was ruled out of the game with a lower-body injury.

“It can be conflicting at times,” Howard said. “I have just tried, for the guys around me, to use this year to just make myself better and to do everything I can in this moment to make this team successful. Whatever my role is, I’m excited to do that, whether that is redshirting or playing when I need to. I am willing to do whatever it takes, because I love the guys in that locker room. That is paramount to me.”

Howard’s quarterback duties could change once against when the Wildcats host the Cowboys.

Martinez didn’t show any signs of a significant injury last weekend, but Klieman said it was too early to speculate on when he might return to the field.

If Howard is once again needed at quarterback, he will be ready to build off his encouraging performance against TCU.

“This game was disappointing, but it is not the end for this team,” Howard said. “This team is going to bounce back. This team is going to be better from this. I know that for a fact. We control our own destiny going forward, and I’m excited to see what kind of fire this brings for this team.”