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17 DAYS TO 2019 KICKOFF: Nick Ast

In which BracketCat counts down the 17th day until the 2019 kickoff with a profile of quarterback Nick Ast.

By BracketCat
#17 Jesse Ertz
At one time, Jesse Ertz wore No. 17. Now it belongs to redshirt sophomore quarterback Nick Ast, who is vying with John Holcombe to be Skylar Thompson’s primary backup in 2019.

#17 Nick Ast

Redshirt Sophomore | 6-5 | 209 lbs. | Cimarron, Kansas
Nick Ast
Nick Ast
Courtesy Kansas State Athletics
  • Position: Quarterback
  • Previous College: None
  • Projection: Third-String
  • Status: Preferred Walk-On

Nick Gerard Ast (b. July 4, 1998) is a preferred walk-on quarterback from Cimarron High School in southwest Kansas who redshirted in 2017 and was voted the program’s Red Raider Award winner as the top scout team contributor. He is majoring in marketing.

Ast ran five times for 6 yards for the White team in the 2018 spring game and completed 1 of 2 passes for 1 yard. He did not see any game action in 2018, but that is set to change.

Entering fall camp, it was expected that Ast will be competing with John Holcombe II for primary backup quarterback duties behind Skylar Thompson in 2019.

A four-year letter-winner for the Bluejays — including during his senior year under head coach Chuck Dirks, in which the team went 7-3 and won a league championship — Ast set career and single-game high school records for both passing yards and total offense.

He was a three-time honorable mention all-state honoree from The Wichita Eagle and was a high school teammate of current Kansas State defensive tackle Jaylen Pickle.

Ast also lettered four years in basketball — earning two all-state citations — and track and field, in which he was the state champion in the 100-meter hurdles. His father, David, was a three-year letter-winner for Kansas State at cornerback from 1983 to 1985.