The Rutgers Scarlet Knights are hosting former Minnesota Golden Gophers starting quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis this weekend, according to 247Sports.
Kaliakmanis will make the trip to Piscataway with his brother, Dino Kaliakmanis, who is another former Golden Gopher. The redshirt sophomore played in all 12 regular-season games for Minnesota this year in a season that was considered a down year for the Gophers.
Kaliakmanis threw for 1,838 yards and 14 touchdowns on a 53.1% completion rate. There was only one game this year in which Kaliakmanis did not take a sack. He only managed to throw for 200 yards or more twice this season.
The Illinois native got significant playing time in half of his games during his freshman year. It was in this year that Kaliakmanis had the best game of his career. He threw for a career-high 319 yards against the Wisconsin Badgers in the last game of the season, where had his only game with a completion percentage above 60% with more than 25 attempts.
Potential Rutgers Scarlet Knights’ Quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis Left Minnesota on Bad Terms with Head Coach P.J. Fleck
After vouching for Minnesota Golden Gophers’ head coach P.J. Fleck prior to the season, Kaliakmanis and his family changed their tune going into the offseason. After allegations of a “toxic” culture at Minnesota, Kaliakmanis expressed his gratitude for the program.
This program is a very hard program to play for, not a toxic one. Coach fleck has made me a better man in the main four areas of my life. Athletically, Academically, Socially, and Spiritually. I am very thankful to have him as a coach and to be apart of this football program! https://t.co/U8QNtLhEMz
— Athan Kaliakmanis (@aajk_23) July 26, 2023
Despite the supportive words Kaliakmanis had for Fleck and his program, he and his family decided to cut ties. There are many speculations as to why Athan and his brother Dino made this decision, but it was confirmed by their father on X (formerly known as Twitter) that ties were cut.
Trying very hard not to comment on a program that our family decided to cut ties with, but want to set the record straight and will start with this. Competition with a mythical inbound QB was absolutely not a factor in entering the transfer portal.
— alexk0845 (@alexkaliakmanis) November 29, 2023
After a disappointing 5-7 season for Fleck and company, reports came out that a large portion of the blame was placed on Kaliakmanis. In an article from Sports Illustrated, reporter Darren Wolfson outlined the potential reason for Kaliakmanis’ frustration with the program.
“As recently as before the Purdue game he was row the boat, Ski-U-Mah, all on board,” said Wolfson on a recent appearance on Skor North’s Mackey & Judd show. “So what changed? Well, they got their ass kicked in West Lafayette. Which, Purdue is rock bottom, so when you lose that game you become rock bottom. But there were some public words, I don’t know how many people were in the room. But there was a heated conversation, well more so a one-sided conversation, where PJ was pointing out stuff about Athan in front of others. That really soured Athan on his situation here.”
Athan Kaliakmanis would Provide Slightly More Stability at the Quarterback Position for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights with Less Rushing Upside
Rutgers Scarlet Knights’ quarterback Gavin Wimsatt was slightly more inconsistent than Kaliakmanis in 2023. He had five fewer passing touchdowns and almost 200 less yards passing on a 47.8% completion rate. While he was statistically worse throwing the ball, Wimsatt had almost 500 yards rushing and nine touchdowns on the ground.
Kaliakmanis would reunite with former Minnesota and current Rutgers’ offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca if he decided to go to Rutgers, but Ciarrocca would be forced to make some schematic adjustments. Kaliakmanis can scramble as he did have almost 100 yards on the ground this year, which is more impressive when considering the fact that he was sacked 21 times in a league where lost sack yards count against a quarterback’s rushing yardage.
While Kaliakmanis has the ability to use his feet, Ciarrocca’s offense would not be able to use him as on designed quarterback runs like he did with Wimsatt. This could change the schematic outlook of the offense, and potentially impact the leading rusher in the Big Ten, running back Kyle Monangai. With Kaliakmanis visiting, it looks like head coach Greg Schiano is willing to weather the change.
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