A meaningful reason you may want to root for Kansas State’s QB to score against BYU

Kansas State Wildcats sophomore quarterback Avery Johnson is one of the best young signal callers in college football, and apparently a very thoughtful one, too.
On Wednesday, Johnson launched a campaign that will connect his play on the field with helping his high school principal raise funds for cancer treatments.
According to the campaign’s website, Dr. Chris Botts, the principal of Maize High School in Kansas, was first diagnosed with cancer in the spring of 2022 before being declared cancer-free a few months later.
In early 2023, however, he was diagnosed again and is now taking part in a clinical trial, as he has exhausted all chemotherapy options.
Taking part in the trial, however, means he has to fly to Houston, Texas, every week.
Johnson’s goal is to help raise money for Botts for every touchdown he scores the rest of the season, and the quarterback is encouraging people to pledge a certain amount of money for every time he scores.
Pledges will be charged each month throughout the rest of the season based on the number of touchdowns Johnson scores the month prior.
The example given on the campaign website is if someone pledges $10 and Johnson scores 10 touchdowns in October, the pledge would turn into a $100 donation on November 15.
As part of the campaign launch, Johnson posted a video on X Wednesday of him telling Botts of the campaign.
“We know that you’re battling cancer … the funding of it is very expensive, and you’ve never asked anybody for any help, so what I wanted to do is, first and foremost, I want to dedicate this season to you and help raise money for you,” Johnson told Botts.
Johnson went on to tell Botts, “I just really want you to know how much I appreciate you and how excited I am. It’s really a motivation to me, just for how strong you are, and I just want you to know you’re not going through this fight alone. You have a lot of people that care about you.”
In response, Botts said, “I’m speechless … Avery, the thing I’ve loved about you is you’ve remained the same person. Not that you don’t grow and change, but you are the same person you were as a freshman through today.
“You’re humble and you just carry yourself in a way that makes me damn proud of who you are and that I’ve had the opportunity to be your principal and to watch you grow, and the fact that you want to do this for me is, like I’m, I don’t even know what to say, but thank you. It touches my heart, and you better start scoring some touchdowns, I think.”
Said Johnson: “I know. I got to. I’m gonna score a bunch of touchdowns for you.”
A four-star recruit coming out of high school, Johnson chose to stay at home for college and play for Kansas State over other finalists Oregon and Washington.
Johnson played sparingly as a freshman in 2023 before making his first start in the Pop-Tarts Bowl after usual Wildcats starting QB Will Howard entered the transfer portal.
In that game, Johnson finished 14 of 31 passing for 178 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions, and he added 71 yards rushing on seven carries with another touchdown.
In three starts so far this season for the undefeated and 13th-ranked Wildcats, Johnson has completed 43 of 67 passes for 490 yards with six touchdowns against one interception, and he has added 187 rushing yards on 28 carries.