K-State Q&A: Avery Johnson, DJ Giddens, football celebrations, a Nike update and more

Before we get to your questions about the Kansas State Wildcats this week, I have some good news to share with any fan who likes seeing the Nike swoosh on the front of their favorite purple uniforms.

All signs point to K-State sticking with Nike as its apparel provider for years to come.

K-State athletic director Gene Taylor told me a few weeks ago that the Wildcats were in discussions with Nike and another bidder (Under Armour) as they looked to sign a new apparel contract for 2024 and beyond. Under Armour stepped in with a better offer than Nike, and school officials gave serious thought to making a switch.

But they ultimately decided to stick with their long-time apparel partners, according to several insiders.

Why? For starters, I’m told K-State coaches much prefer Nike. They think it is the younger and hipper brand. They also think a partnership with Nike gives them a boost with recruits, and that it helps the overall Wildcat brand in ways that other companies can’t match ... even if the money was better elsewhere.

In the end, K-State thought this was the best long-term play. And it seems like a wise decision to me.

Update: The Wildcats officially announced on Friday afternoon that they are sticking with Nike as their apparel provider.

Now let’s dive into your questions about the football team. Thanks, as always, for providing them.

E-MAIL QUESTION: I’m all for swagger, but don’t you think the celebration thing has gotten a little out of hand, especially when the HC admires it? IMO, not a good look for the alma mater. - Kirk Z.

It sounds like most of the K-State coaching staff agrees with you.

Offensive coordinator Collin Klein wasn’t a fan of Hayden Gillum and Will Howard pretending to shotgun beers after a touchdown last week, according to Cooper Beebe, and players said this week that they will look to cool it with the celebrations starting with this weekend’s game against Troy.

Sadly, I don’t have a strong opinion on this debate.

Was that one particular celebration a step too far? Probably. But it didn’t earn K-State a flag and some fans clearly loved it. Part of me wants to say, “Let them have fun.” Another part of me wants to say, “Switch to a simple high five next time.”

But I honestly didn’t have a problem with any of the other celebrations. Uso Seumalo’s big-guy dance was amazing. RJ Garcia (whose actual first name is Ronaldo) jumping into the air and flexing like soccer star Christiano Ronaldo was top notch. Khalid Duke pretending to reel in a fish was above reproach.

I’m not going to tell those players to stop doing any of that.

It might be wise for Howard and Gillum to think of a new celebration, but K-State football players should be allowed to have fun with most of their victory dances.

It’s too early to make a prediction on this.

If UCF (at Boise State) and K-State (vs. Troy) both win this weekend then that will look like a mighty good game for the television networks. If the Knights and the Wildcats both lose then it’s suddenly a candidate for ESPN+.

That’s a good one, Scott!

For those of you who don’t pay attention to such things, the K-State football team has never won a game while deviating from its classic uniforms under Chris Klieman.

The Wildcats broke out awesome white helmets and white pants last season when they hosted Tulane, thinking they would end the curse against an inferior opponent, and then played their worst game of the year.

Coaches are a superstitious bunch. For that reason, Klieman went into this year saying alternate uniforms have been placed on the back burner. He wants to wear uniforms that help the Wildcats win.

Now, I will always insist that wearing new uniforms doesn’t negatively impact a team. If that was the case, why does Jerome Tang win so often in lavender and black?

But if K-State really wanted to break the uniform curse it should have worn something special last week against Southeast Missouri State. No amount of bad luck was going to prevent the Wildcats from winning that game.

You came to the right place with this question.

I asked Garcia about the hoodie he wears under his jerseys during games, and this is what he had to say about it:

“I just wore it randomly one game last year,” Garcia said. “There was another guy on our team that wore one, too. We both kind of did it together. I wore a hoodie in high school a little bit. But apparently a lot of people didn’t notice that. I didn’t really think it was that big of a deal, but people like it, I guess.”

If Will Howard stays healthy, I seriously doubt we see Avery Johnson all that much the rest of the season.

K-State played him a bunch last week because Chris Klieman and Collin Klein wanted to evaluate him in a game setting. Neither of them have come out and said he is definitively the team’s backup quarterback ahead of Jake Rubley.

The next time K-State needs a different QB in the game, we could see the Cats turn to Rubley.

Now, is Avery Johnson ready to handle a few snaps every game? That is an entirely different question. I loved what I saw from the Maize freshman last week. He is going to be an absolute problem for Big 12 defenses as he matures and figures out how to make wise decisions and his arm catches up with his legs.

But I don’t think he’s so good (yet) that K-State will be yanking Howard off the field to give him reps in every game. So my guess he averages less than five snaps per game.

I will be shocked if we see one lead back emerge this season.

D.J. Giddens was fantastic against SEMO, as he rushed for 128 yards on 15 carries. Gaining an average of 8.5 yards per carry ain’t too shabby.

But Treshaun Ward wasn’t exactly a bum out there. The Florida State transfer rushed for 56 yards on 11 carries and also threw for a touchdown. He looked great in space and came oh so close to adding a rushing touchdown to his day.

K-State should continue to play both of them.

Their running styles complement each other well. Giddens is the power back. Ward makes you miss in space. It would be silly to only use one.

That being said, I do think Giddens will see more touches than Ward this season. I envision a 65/35 split in his favor.

Felix Anudike-Uzomah is the smart choice.

The Kansas City Chiefs drafted him in the first round, and he is going to see playing time this season on their defensive line. He will get more opportunities to make an impact than any other K-State rookie.

But I’m going with somebody else.

Give me Deuce Vaughn instead. Even though he is behind Tony Pollard and other running backs on the depth chart in Dallas, I envision him finding more than a few ways to gain yards as a rookie. He will get a look as a return man, he will catch the occasional pass out of the backfield and he will run the ball.

Nickelodeon clearly thinks big things are in his future. Why else would they have slimed him this week?

Running backs get injured a lot in the NFL, and if anything happens to Pollard he could be in line for a decent workload on certain Sundays.