Three weeks have handed since Will Howard was lifted upon the shoulders of teammates and Kansas State college students following his breakout efficiency in opposition to then No. 9 Oklahoma State.
The junior quarterback, who has needed to change starter Adrian Martinez at a second’s discover on account of damage at instances this season, continues to be spectacular and has helped raise No. 19 Kansas State on the doorstep of a berth within the Big 12 Championship Game.
And now Howard goes to be “the guy” for Okay-State, 7-3 general and 5-2 within the Big 12, with Martinez unable to play when the Wildcats journey to West Virginia, 4-6 and 2-5, for Saturday’s 1 p.m. contest at Milan Puskar Stadium in Morgantown, West Virginia.
“Will is going to be the guy,” Okay-State head coach Chris Klieman stated in his weekly news convention. “It’s his football team. I’m excited for Will. Everybody knows Will is playing at a really high level.”
This will mark the second begin for the 6-foot-5, 235-pound Howard this season. Martinez’s newest setback got here when he suffered an damage within the Wildcats’ 31-3 win at Baylor final Saturday, springing Howard into motion.
Klieman was fast to douse rumors that Martinez would miss the rest of the season.
“With regards to Adrian, he’s not out for the season,” Klieman stated. “I had heard that (information) was out there, but that’s not the case. He’s not available this week. He will not be playing this week, but he’s not out for the season.”
In Martinez’s place, Howard promptly threw for 196 yards and three touchdowns in opposition to the Bears.
This got here after he threw 296 yards and a faculty record-tying 4 touchdowns in opposition to Oklahoma State — his heroics in a 48-0 win prompting Okay-State teammates and college students to raise him upon their shoulders throughout an on-field celebration. One week earlier than his career-best effort in opposition to the Cowboys, Howard got here off the sideline to throw for 225 yards and two touchdowns at then-No. 8 TCU.
Howard has appeared in three video games this season. His begin at West Virginia will give him 4 video games performed. That means if Howard was to play within the regular-season finale in opposition to Kansas, or in another sport this season, he would lose his redshirt season.
“With where we’re at and with how he’s playing, I know he’s comfortable and I know we’re comfortable in the fact of it’s a pretty special time for K-State football and he’s playing at a really high level,” Klieman stated. “He’s excited about his opportunity.”
Howard has thrown for 707 yards and 9 touchdowns over his final three video games, essentially the most landing passes ever by a Wildcat over a three-game stretch by which they performed.
“Let’s go and add to that,” working again Deuce Vaughn stated. “Should we? I think we should, no doubt. I’m super excited for him. That’s an unbelievable feat. I didn’t even know that. For him to have that, it just adds to his confidence and adds to the fact that we have confidence in him, and we’re super excited for him this weekend.”
Howard gained ample expertise over his first three years. He performed in 9 video games with seven begins as a real freshman instead of injured Skylar Thompson in 2020. Last season, he performed in six video games with three begins when Thompson missed motion once more.
“What an experience being a young kid in there two years ago and still working through the offensive scheme, and now I’m able to just sit back there and dissect the defense,” Howard stated. “I know the offense like the back of my hand now just because I’ve been in the system so long.”
Over the final two seasons, Howard has thrown 10 touchdowns and two interceptions. He has thrown for two,227 yards and 18 touchdowns in his profession.
“That’s what’s helped him as much as anything is going back on his preparation when he knew he was going to play in 2020-2021,” Klieman stated. “Now how he sees defenses and coverages and pressures, you guys can see it as well as I do, his mind is slowing down for him so he can make a lot of the right calls and a lot of the right reads.”
This season, Howard has been prepared at a second’s discover within the occasion that Martinez has been knocked out of motion.
Now Howard has this week to arrange realizing that he’s the beginning quarterback, which Howard calls “definitely a big mindset adjustment.”
“You want to say that you’re going to prepare like you’re the starter no matter what,” he stated, “however it’s slightly completely different if you truly know (you are the starter), and slightly extra calming in a approach, and you’ll put together with getting all of the No. 1 reps and getting ready such as you’re the starter.
“You kind of want to do that when you’re the backup but it’s just a little different when you really know.”
Martinez, who transferred from Nebraska previous to the season, has began in all 9 video games by which he is performed. He has thrown for 1,261 yards and 6 touchdowns and one interception and has rushed for 615 yards and 10 touchdowns.
He stays on the verge of turning into simply the second FBS quarterback to achieve 10,000 passing yards and three,000 dashing yards in a profession. One week after incomes Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week with 382 complete yards and 5 touchdowns in a 41-34 win at then-No. 6 Oklahoma, Martinez earned Big 12 Newcomer of the Week after dashing for a career-high 171 yards and three touchdowns whereas throwing for 116 yards and one rating in a 37-28 win over Texas Tech on October 1.
“Let’s not forget he probably had one of the top five performances in all of college football at OU,” Klieman stated. “I feel generally individuals overlook that, however the child most likely had among the finest performances of any participant in school soccer in that win, however I’m annoyed for him that when he bought dinged up in opposition to Iowa State he simply could not get it again. Then when he lastly bought it again, one thing else comes up. It’s dangerous luck slightly bit.
“Credit to him he’s still been a great leader and still been a great teammate and helped Will a bunch on the sideline.”
Howard, a local of Downingtown, Pennsylvania, expects many relations and associates to be in attendance to witness as he takes middle stage in opposition to the Mountaineers.
“It’s only four hours away so I’ll have a lot of people there,” he stated. “As far the Big 12 goes, there aren’t a lot of teams you play out east, so I’m excited about it. I’ve definitely been thinking about this one.”
Kobe Savage to overlook the remainder of the season on account of damage
Klieman opened his news convention by confirming that junior switch security Kobe Savage will miss the rest of the season on account of an damage he suffered in opposition to Baylor.
“We lost Kobe Savage for the year,” Klieman stated. “It’s really tough because Kobe was playing such great football for us and he was devastated. We’ll lose him for the year and that’s disappointing.”
Savage, who was named Big 12 Newcomer of the Week after amassing a career-high 11 tackles at then-No. 6 Oklahoma, ranks second on the workforce with 58 tackles, together with three tackles for a loss, and he ranks second within the Big 12 with three interceptions. The 5-foot-11, 206-pound native of Paris, Texas, had emerged as an lively and fiery defensive chief for the Wildcats.
Senior linebacker Daniel Green stated that the protection will play the rest of the season for Savage.
“He’s one of our Mob mentality guys and really embraces what we do on defense, so it really hurts having someone like him go down,” Green stated. “We’re going to rally around him. We’re going to play for him. We told him after what happened in the first quarter, we said, ‘We got you, bro. We’re riding for you.’ We’re going to finish this season for him strong.”
publish credit score to Source link