Editor’s note: On Friday, July 29, Dylan Edwards tweeted he will “decommit and take a step back, and reopen my recruitment” in regards to his previous commitment to Kansas State. This article, originally posted July 5, remains unchanged.
Kansas State football hit the recruiting trail hard the past two weeks and delivered a 2023 four-star backfield at running back and quarterback. Running back Dylan Edwards committed to the Wildcats on June 23, with quarterback Avery Johnson signing on Tuesday, July 5.
Maize High School quarterback Avery Johnson appeared to follow his fellow Wichita-suburb native after attending Edwards’ signing day and choosing the Wildcats over other top programs.
Avery Johnson has made it to Dylan Edwards’ announcement. pic.twitter.com/KHq4vwhk3f
— Derek Young (@DYoungRivals) June 23, 2022
The Elite 11 finalist narrowed his options down to Oregon, Washington and K-State before ultimately signing with the Wildcats.
The signing made Wildcat history as Johnson — the highest-rated player in Kansas with a composite score of 91.94 — now ranks top 15 all-time to sign with the Wildcats. It also marks him as the first number one in-state recruit to sign with K-State since 2014, according to 247 Sports.
In Johnson’s 2021 junior campaign, he threw for 2,549 yards and 20 touchdowns with a 55 percent completion rate. The striking air performance accompanies 1,080 rushing yards on 146 attempts, crossing the goal-line 22 times.
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Johnson’s all-purpose yards edge four-star running back Dylan Edwards’ combined efforts by 415 yards but at a quarterback compacity.
The running back from Derby totaled 3,214 all-purpose yards, good for 10th in the country. That includes 2,603 yards on 209 rushing attempts, averaging 221 yards per game and 13 yards per carry.
2,603 Rushing Yards
221 YPG
13 YPC
209 Carries
40 Touchdowns
3,214 All Purpose Yardshttps://t.co/UPVwE6FWMe pic.twitter.com/CNqD6H4P4s— 𝒟𝓎𝓁𝒶𝓃 𝐸𝒹𝓌𝒶𝓇𝒹𝓈 (@dylan_edwards02) November 28, 2021
The Derby High School running back’s hard work earned him Kansas Gatorade Player of The Year in 2021. Edwards signed with K-State despite having 33 scholarship offers. Among those offers was former Big 12 foe Nebraska and future SEC program Oklahoma.
Like Johnson, Edwards’ top choices also included the Oregon Ducks but saw a greater opportunity for success in purple and white. The commitments double down on the Wildcat’s in-state recruiting dominance, placing K-State in a promising position for the future.
