Kansas State‘s starting quarterback Avery Johnson exited the game at Colorado early in the third quarter on a non-contact injury that had him holding his left side as he left for the locker room in Boulder on Saturday night.
The Cats offense was starting to get on a roll, as Johnson had just hit wide receiver Jace Brown for a 33-yard gain when he abruptly exited the match up. Johnson was having an efficient night up to that point, going 8/10 for 84 yards.
At the time, the Wildcats were leading Colorado 14-7, when Ta’quan Roberson took over under center. Roberson, who spent time at Penn State and UConn, only quarterbacked seven plays on the same drive before Johnson returned.
On a 4th and 1 inside the five yard line with eight minutes left, Johnson handed it off to DJ Giddens, who bulldozed his way forward for a first down at the two-yard line. Two plays later, Johnson found Jace Brown in the left flat for a touchdown as the Cats took a 20-7 lead over Colorado.
Here’s video of the injury that caused Johnson to have to leave the game temporarily.
Who is Ta’quan Roberson?
Roberson is a veteran back up quarterback who has bounced around college football in recent seasons. The senior from Orange, New Jersey, has seen time in 18 career games with 11 starts over parts of five seasons at both Penn State and UConn. Roberson won the starting quarterback job at UConn in 2022 before a season-ending injury in the first game, while he started the final 10 games under center in 2023.
Last year, he played in 11 games with 10 starts, throwing for 2,075 yards and 12 touchdowns on 197-of-338 (58.3%). He also rushed for 120 yards and two touchdowns on 46 carries.
Kansas State is 4-1 on the season and 1-1 in Big 12 Conference play heading into the Colorado game.
