Athan Kaliakmanis was supposed to be the next step in PJ Fleck’s program. The quarterback who was supposed to take the reigns from Tanner Morgan and launch the Minnesota Gophers into another tier of the college football world.
Unfortunately, that plan never came to fruition. Instead, Kaliakmanis struggled to take the job from Tanner Morgan, who ended up sticking around for six years of eligibility. Even after taking over as full time starter, Athan stumbled and fumbled away just about every chance he got at Minnesota.
So, when he and the Gophers parted ways after the 2023 regular season, both sides were ready to move on. Kaliakmanis reunited with Kirk Ciarrocca at Rutgers , where he wound up winning the starting job. PJ Fleck & Co landed top FCS transfer portal QB, Max Brosmer.
Ex-Gophers QB (now Rutgers QB) Athan Kaliakmanis vs UCLA
Rutgers vs UCLA looked a lot like what we got used to in Dinkytown, with Athan Kaliakmanis. He had a few throws that looked really good, and he made a play here and there. But at the end of the day, the kid is a one or two read quarterback who gets flustered far too often under pressure and struggles mightily with his accuracy.