Kansas State Wildcats Now Have Another Key Player Added To Injury Report

The Kansas State Wildcats already had enough injuries entering Saturday's game against the Oklahoma State Cowboys at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. 

Now, they have another key player who could be sidelined for the Big 12 conference matchup. On Wednesday, running back Joe Jackson made an appearance on the injury report. He is listed as questionable. 

Jackson is the Wildcats' third-leading rusher with 384 yards on 84 carries and three touchdowns. He also has 14 catches for 132 yards and two touchdowns. 

Kansas State is already without quarterback Avery Johnson, who is expected to miss the remainder of the season with an undisclosed injury. Johnson hasn't played since the Oct. 17 victory against the rival Kansas Jayhawks in the Sunflower Showdown.  

He is being replaced by Blake Barnett, who is the Wildcats' fourth starting quarterback in four games. As if starting a backup at quarterback isn't bad enough, things could get even worse if Jackson is unavailable. 

The Wildcats do have starter Rodney Fields, who is the leading rusher, but they will need all their offensive weapons to defeat a talented Cowboys team. Oklahoma State is 5-3 overall and 3-2 in the Big 12 but has won two straight. 

Jackson is among the Wildcats' most versatile players on the roster. This season was supposed to be a breakout for him, but he lost the starting spot to Fields.  An Oklahoma State transfer, Fields has started every game this season. 

The move was shocking considering Jackson finished last year as the starter. He rushed for nearly 1,000 yards after beating out Dylan Edwards for the starting spots shortly after the season began. 

A healthy Jackson gives the Wildcats a better chance of snapping a two-game losing skid. They have also lost four of the last five games. Much of it is because of the quarterback situation. 

Johnson had started 32 straight games before sustaining the injury last month. Since, the Wildcats have played musical chairs at quarterback. Jacob Knuth, Dillon Duff have all got their chance and now Barnett gets his. 

It has made things much more difficult for coach Collin Klein, who is in his first year in charge of the program. Despite the record, the Wildcats have been in every game this season except when they played the Houston Cougars. 

That's the most encouraging aspect of Klein's rookie year as coach. The hope is he can finish strong so the program enters next season with momentum.