Avery Johnson, the top-ranked high school player in Kansas, chooses Kansas State football

MAIZE — It took nearly a month for Avery Johnson to announce to the world what really was in his heart all along.

After thanking his everyone from God to his classmates, teammates coaches and family, Johnson, the four-star Maize quarterback and No. 1-ranked player in the state of Kansas made his commitment to Kansas State on Tuesday afternoon in a news conference at Maize High School.

"It was right after I left campus on my official visit, I had a good idea and I really could have committed right there," said Johnson, who took his official recruiting visit to K-State the weekend of June 11 and a final one to Oregon the following week. "I didn't have too big a mindset going into Oregon, and I really feel like sitting down with those coaches they really opened my eyes up a little bit and asked me what I really wanted.

"I figured out whenever I sat down and talked with my family and figured out what I really want out of a school, Kansas State checked out those boxes."

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Kansas State football continues in-state recruiting success

Johnson is the sixth Kansas player to commit to the Wildcats in the 2023 recruiting cycle and the first No. 1 prospect from the state to choose K-State since Winfield quarterback Nick Patton in 2004. Patton never ended up attending K-State, heading to Dodge City Community College instead.

Johnson, who also visited Washington the first week in June, said he informed the K-State coaches of his decision before heading to California last week for the Elite 11 competition, where he was named one of the top 11 high school quarterbacks in the country.

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"They never pressured me," said the 6-foot-2, 170-pound Johnson, who passed for 2,550 yards and 20 touchdowns, plus ran for 1,080 and 22 more scores in leading Maize to the Class 5A state championship game last year as a junior. "They never said, 'You've got to make the decision by this time.' They always told me: 'Take as much time as you need. We'll always be here behind you,' and there was never a day in my mind that I felt like I wasn't their guy."

Maize coach Gary Guzman gave the K-State coaches high marks for their recruiting efforts with Johnson.

"They spent a lot of time over here. I know they talked to him quite a bit, whether at school, texting, calls or Zoom or whatever," Guzman said. "They did an amazing job recruiting him.

"Coach (Collin) Klein obviously stood out, being the offensive coordinator, and talking to him about his plans. Obviously, what he did in the LSU game, it's amazing, but they did just an amazing job getting to the school, seeing him, talking to him and never letting up."

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Klein, K-State's quarterback coach and a former Wildcat quarterback himself, served as interim offensive coordinator for the Wildcats' Texas Bowl victory over LSU in January and soon was promoted permanently.

Johnson said his goal for his final high school season is simple.

"State championship," he said. "We were super close last year.

"I'm definitely going to try my best to lead this team and get the best out of myself and the players around me, so we can be at our best when that time comes around again."

Johnson, who plans to graduate from high school in December, also will look to refine his game before enrolling at K-State for the 2023 spring semester.

"At the Elite 11, I learned a lot more than I thought I would, and I feel like I learned how to be a leader in a whole lot of different ways," he said. "My biggest thing is just leading by example and also being more of a vocal leader and getting the best out of my players around me, so we can be at our best week in and week out.

"And then football-wise, just continuing to polish up my game. Become more of a precise passer and just doing the little things. I feel like now that I'm getting all the recognition and different things, I just need to polish up on a lot of little things and continue to get better each and every day and not get complacent."

More: How future Kansas State tight end Will Anciaux came to choose football over basketball

Complacency is not a concern, Guzman said.

"He's an amazing young man. Not only is a great athlete, because he is a great athlete," Guzman said. "He does multiple sports and does them at a high level, but just the person that he is.

"His work ethic is tremendous. Great student, a 4.0, so he's just does all things well. He takes care of people, he cares about people and obviously people took notice of that. Because you can have a great athlete who doesn’t do all things right, but he's a total package."

With Johnson's commitment, K-State now has 12 recruits for the 2023 class. Joe Jackson, a running back from Davenport, Fla., was No. 11 when he made his announcement Monday.

Jackson, a 6-foot, 185-pound all-purpose back, is the second running back in the class, joining four-star Derby High School standout Dylan Edwards, who committed on June 23.

More: Kansas State football adds defensive commitment with St. Louis cornerback Donovan McIntosh

Running back Hoe Jackson had offers from Duke, Rutgers, Iowa State, more

Jackson, meanwhile, chose K-State over Duke and Rutgers, but also held offers from Iowa State, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Utah, Vanderbilt and Wake Forest, among others. As a junior, he rushed for 1,011 yards and nine touchdowns, averaging 6.7 yards per carry, plus caught 15 passes for 342 yards and five scores for a 5-5 Ridge Community team.

Jackson was the second player to commit to K-State already in July. St. Louis cornerback Damion McIntosh announced his decision Friday.

Edwards, a longtime friend of Johnson's, was pleased to hear that they will play together at K-State.

"It's definitely a recruiting W," Edwards said. "I'm happy he chose what was best for him, and that it was K-State.

"It happened to be where I was going, so I'm just happy about that."

Johnson and Edwards are just two of the top players from the state to choose K-State. The others are Kansas City Piper offensive lineman Camden Beebe, Kapaun-Mt. Carmel tight end Will Anciaux, Wichita Collegiate safety Wesley Fair and Blue Valley wide receiver Andre Davis.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas State football gets commitment from Maize QB Avery Johnson