K-State Football: Jesse Ertz Will Start Against Stanford
K-State football has had a bit of a quarterback carousel this offseason, but it appears they’ve finally made a decision as to who will start. That guy is Jesse Ertz.
It was a rough start for junior (then sophomore) Jesse Ertz in 2015. The guy ran one play with the Kansas State offense before tearing his ACL and then was out for the rest of the season. Harsh.
Joe Hubener did okay in Ertz’s absence, but wasn’t nearly as good as what the hype for Ertz was. The team ended the season with a 6-6 record, barely making it into the Liberty Bowl, and falling to the Arkansas Razorbacks to give them an under .500 record on the year.
The hope is different this year for K-State football fans.
It could be another year of rebuilding for K-State football, but at the same time, we don’t know what Ertz is capable of yet.
According to Bill Snyder, Ertz showed the most consistency out of all of the quarterbacks on the depth chart (Quote below courtesy of The Kansas City Star).
"“I think both Joe and Alex have demonstrated their capabilities, it’s just the consistency part of it going into the first ballgame that is very important to us. Jesse has demonstrated that to a greater degree."
Ertz will make his second collegiate start this Friday night, when the Wildcats travel to San Francisco to take on the Stanford Cardinal. Stanford is ranked seventh heading into the season, and will not be an easy feat for KSU.
Just a week ago, Kellis Robinett of The Kansas City Star wrote that Ertz’s teammates voted him as a team captain, and that they’re already seeing flashes of Collin Klein and Jake Waters in him. Those two led the Wildcats to several great seasons, and that’s definitely a good sign for K-State.
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The bad side to all of this is that Jesse Ertz hasn’t thrown a pass yet while in a Kansas State uniform. The one play he ran last season was a five-yard run, and he spent the rest of the year rehabbing and hanging out on the sideline.
It could be another year of rebuilding for K-State football, but at the same time, we don’t know what Ertz is capable of yet. He very well could be the next Collin Klein, and that’s exciting to think about for sure.
VF Castro of Saturday Blitz predicted the Wildcats would finish seventh in the Big 12 this year (fourth to last), which isn’t shocking considering they disappointed last year. They’re obviously a better team than Kansas and Iowa State, but they’re about the same level as West Virginia. Castro touched on this in her article,
"With major losses on the offensive line, an ongoing quarterback battle, and an intense schedule, Kansas State has major challenges. But if we’ve learned anything throughout the past couple of seasons, it’s not to underestimate the Wildcats–who always reach .500 on the season or higher."
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She also listed the silver lining would be that seven more wins would get Bill Snyder to 200 career wins. Pretty impressive.
What do you think of K-State’s decision to start Jesse Ertz as quarterback?