KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas State senior quarterback Skylar Thompson will miss the remainder of the season after surgery to repair an "upper-body injury," coach Chris Klieman announced Monday.
"Skylar is gonna be done for the year," Klieman said on the weekly conference call with Big 12 coaches. "He had surgery last week on an upper-body injury, so, unfortunately, his season is over with."
Thompson, an Independence native and Fort Osage graduate, was hurt Oct. 3 against Texas Tech and missed last weekend's game at Texas Christian.
The Wildcats (3-1, 3-0 Big 12) are tied atop the Big 12 standings with Iowa State. Oklahoma State, which is 2-0 in conference play, is the only other conference unbeaten.
Thompson, who had completed 40 of 64 passes for 626 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions this season, certainly will be missed.
Freshman quarterback Will Howard replaced Thompson during the last two games, going 7 of 12 for 173 with a touchdown in relief against the Red Raiders.
Howard only completed 8 of 19 passes for 119 yards with an interception in the win against the Horned Frogs, which featured a dominant performance by the Wildcats' defense, but he added 86 yards and a touchdown rushing.
Howard, who is from Downingtown, Pennsylvania, was chosen Monday as the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week after becoming the first true freshman quarterback in Wildcats history to win his first career road start.
"We're gonna rally around Will Howard and Nick Ast," Klieman said. "I thought Will played really well, especially for your first game against a Gary Patterson-coached defense. That's not easy to handle. I thought he handled it well."
Defensive back AJ Parker was chosen as the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week after returning an interception for the game-winning touchdown and recording five tackles in the K-State's 21-14 win.
The Wildcats are off this week but host the Kansas in the Sunflower Showdown on Oct. 24 for homecoming game.
The Big 12 announced Monday the Jayhawks at Wildcats will kick off at 11 a.m. on FS1.
