Gophers freshman QB Athan Kaliakmanis earns praise for his cameo

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BleedGopher

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Per Marcus:

Who would be leading P.J. Fleck's offense right now if Tanner Morgan had not returned to the Gophers for a sixth season?

One possibility is redshirt freshman Athan Kaliakmanis, a former four-star recruit.

Morgan is back. So the other Gophers quarterbacks mostly watched from the sidelines in wins over New Mexico State and Western Illinois to open the 2022 season.

But Kaliakmanis did get his first taste of action late in both blowout wins, including going 3-for-3 for 67 yards and rushing for a touchdown on Saturday.

Despite the competition, the Gophers seem excited at what they saw from the 6-4, 205-pound signal caller from Antioch, Ill.

"He was really poised, he was calm," Morgan said on Tuesday. "He went in there and executed the plays that were called. He's incredibly accurate, and it was fun just to see him go out there and play ball."

m.startribune.com

Poised and calm, Gophers back-up quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis comes through in his cameo

Kaliakmanis, a reserve behind Tanner Morgan, got the chance to show his talent Saturday in the team's blowout win against Western Illinois.
m.startribune.com m.startribune.com

Go Gophers!!
 



I watched a lot of NFL football Sunday, with his throw to Wright to the 1 fresh on my mind. He has NFL velocity and then some. Granted it was Western Illinois and only three passes, but he looked poised and accurate as well. He can run like the wind too. His ceiling is extremely high.
 

Very small sample size so far so take this for what it is worth...

He was long touted to have a strong powerful arm but after getting to see him in action, I am equally impressed with his ability to put touch on his passes and mix things up depending on the type of throw that is required. Some QB's are too "cute" with their floppy over-aimed passes and others throw fast balls 100% of the time. Kaliakmanis seems to have the ability to remain accurate while inserting and removing zip on his passes as needed.
 





They should be playing NDSU then there would be something to talk about.
 




Kalik will be a good QB, the coaches have recruited him since his sophomore year in HS. It looks like Kramer will be his backup.
 






balds said:
I watched a lot of NFL football Sunday, with his throw to Wright to the 1 fresh on my mind. He has NFL velocity and then some. Granted it was Western Illinois and only three passes, but he looked poised and accurate as well. He can run like the wind too. His ceiling is extremely high.
Click to expand...
His natural skills have nothing to do with level of competition. Natural skills while under pressure from a good defense will still come through.

To be a great quarterback he also needs quick thinking and calm under pressure. We'll wait and see but he's shown no reason to bet against him.
 



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