Alex Kaliakmanis: Trying very hard not to comment on a program that our family decided to cut ties with.

[50PoundHead]

Here's what I'm concluding after reading all the discussion on AK8 being terrible.

He played every snap. He had to be doing what they told him to do? If the backup did these same repeated flaws, but only worse and that's why he couldn't get on the field....then it's the coaching...right?
If the backup was more efficient and they just didn't let him play....that's coaching.
We all agree Athan was hopeless but he kept playing??? I don't know what was going on but with all QB's unhappy....it's more coaching than bad players is my conclusion.

You forgot to mention that the most popular player with the fan base is the second-string QB.

 

[GopherPoke]

Or could it be that all the QBs were bad (Viotto gets a bit of a pass on that since he was a freshman) and AK was still the best option? To me that's on the coaches only in the sense of bad recruiting. Tanner Morgan was a good QB, but the last QB who was even remotely NFL ready was Sauter. So QB recruiting has been a problem here for basically my entire life.

Are you saying that for college QB recruiting to not be a problem, players should end up "NFL ready" when they're out of eligibility? I'm thinking there is a lot of evidence that this is not the case. Sorry if I misunderstood.

 

[mngolf]

a lot of this comes back to the same question - is Fleck willing to change or capable of changing his approach when it comes to QB play and the passing game?

obviously, we don't know what is happening inside the program. all we can base an opinion on is what we see - and what we see is a program that struggles to pass the ball effectively, and a program where QB's are leaving via the portal in droves.

looking at the situation, do you conclude that everything is fine - or do you conclude that some changes may be required to attract and keep a quality QB?

If I'm a portal QB looking at MN, I am going to want some pretty strong assurances that I am being brought in to play QB. if they want a guy to hand the ball off 45 times, they can get one anywhere.

They hand off 45 times because the qb sucks

 

[MplsGopher]

@60's Guy right.

The thing where you get the ball in shotgun, the RB scraps across as the QB holds the ball out, and then either lets go of it or keeps it, has been around for a while.

The thing where you get the ball in shotgun, the RB scraps across as the QB holds the ball out, and then either lets go or pulls it to quickly throw a lateral pass to a wide receiver, with lineman blocking downfield either way because it’s not a forward pass, I thought was a much newer fad.

 

[60's Guy]

Or could it be that all the QBs were bad (Viotto gets a bit of a pass on that since he was a freshman) and AK was still the best option? To me that's on the coaches only in the sense of bad recruiting. Tanner Morgan was a good QB, but the last QB who was even remotely NFL ready was Sauter. So QB recruiting has been a problem here for basically my entire life.

I agree we have not had highly talented candidates but coaching is a big factor in the ineffectiveness of what we have had. Morgan 2019 versus after....different QB. Argument is he lost his receivers...not in the camp that says that explains it all.
No doubt evaluation is a major part of the problem. If you are dead set on one system...you need to recruit guys who fit the system.

 

[Word]

Are you saying that for college QB recruiting to not be a problem, players should end up "NFL ready" when they're out of eligibility? I'm thinking there is a lot of evidence that this is not the case. Sorry if I misunderstood.

I'm just saying that basically the Gophers have had a lot of bad QBs in my lifetime. Recruiting QBs hasn't been the strength of any Gopher coach. Fleck brought us the best QB of my lifetime (Morgan) so he's actually doing above average in that regard.

 

[Word]

I agree we have not had highly talented candidates but coaching is a big factor in the ineffectiveness of what we have had. Morgan 2019 versus after....different QB. Argument is he lost his receivers...not in the camp that says that explains it all.
No doubt evaluation is a major part of the problem. If you are dead set on one system...you need to recruit guys who fit the system.

Morgan's "bad" 3 years were still far better than AK's. His "bad" 2022 was still 62% completion rate.
Don't forget Morgan had 2 years of Sanford as OC. That will destroy any QB.

 

[Tlsbhansen]

You forgot to mention that the most popular player with the fan base is the second-string QB.

Unfortunately right now we don't have one!

 

[Torres9]

Viotto leaving is interesting. Will be curious to learn more about that.

Athan leaving is 100% because PJ offered a grad transfer QB. Even if AK thinks he can beat out the grad transfer, he probably didn't like the idea of having to compete for the starting spot or at a minimum didn't like the lack of confidence from the coach (I'd probably do the same thing in his position). I'm not going to post the stats again but AK, statistically-speaking, is one of the worst all-time Gopher QBs. ANY coach that has a QB like that is going to explore options.

What’s the evidence of this? Asking honestly. Right now there is zero qb depth. Seems odd for a coach without options to sacrifice your only qb. Also if it really does cost a mil to bring in a good transfer qb where’s PJ gonna get that?

I’m sure Pj is exploring options. But right now he doesn’t have any and he would have to tell AK that

It doesn’t seem likely that PJ initiated this transfer. He doesn’t have much to fall back on.

 

[Panthadad2]

What’s the evidence of this? Asking honestly. Right now there is zero qb depth. Seems odd for a coach without options to sacrifice your only qb. Also if it really does cost a mil to bring in a good transfer qb where’s PJ gonna get that?

I’m sure Pj is exploring options. But right now he doesn’t have any and he would have to tell AK that

It doesn’t seem likely that PJ initiated this transfer. He doesn’t have much to fall back on.

There's no way Fleck initiated this transfer other than potentially saying that the QB position will be up for competition going forward. What we don't know is if that competition included sharing a piece of the NIL pie, where AK didn't want to share any of it.

They stuck with AK all year through thick and thin, and good and shitty play. They played him right up to the last moment and gave him every opportunity. They committed to him so much that other younger QBs left last year.

This is just a new paradigm. QBs across the country are moving around.

 

[60's Guy]

Morgan's "bad" 3 years were still far better than AK's. His "bad" 2022 was still 62% completion rate.
Don't forget Morgan had 2 years of Sanford as OC. That will destroy any QB.

No argument from me on that.

 

[60's Guy]

Viotto leaving is interesting. Will be curious to learn more about that.

Athan leaving is 100% because PJ offered a grad transfer QB. Even if AK thinks he can beat out the grad transfer, he probably didn't like the idea of having to compete for the starting spot or at a minimum didn't like the lack of confidence from the coach (I'd probably do the same thing in his position). I'm not going to post the stats again but AK, statistically-speaking, is one of the worst all-time Gopher QBs. ANY coach that has a QB like that is going to explore options.

No argument Athan played poorly. Disagree why he's leaving though...I agree with dad....it has nothing to do with competition. Athan and dad feel he is a much better QB than how he performed.
He/they did not like how he was coached. His performance wasn't going to improve if the same people were still coaching him.
So he is hoping to resurrect his career and have fun playing again some place else. It wasn't fun playing for PJ and Harbaugh, so he's leaving.
That's how I see it.

 

[Dave H]

If you can’t drop a big bag on a guy, there is no reason for him to want to come here.

- Cold, significantly more so than every other P5 save Wisc and maybe Iowa/St.
- Relatively little NIL money
- Rushing heavy offense with a coach who tends to call running plays on 3rd down instead of throwing it.


Why would any decent QB that has other P5 options choose that??


The real answer is that they have no other equivalent options. That’s our path.

For example, we won’t even get close to this Bosmer kid unless no other P program offers him.

And if that happens ….. why??

You know for a guy who rips others for posting clickbait...you sure do buy into clickbait hook line and sinker. Let me guess, you believed Doogie every time Hoiberg's agents called him to pretend he was looking for a job so he could get a raise...

 

[Word]

What’s the evidence of this? Asking honestly. Right now there is zero qb depth. Seems odd for a coach without options to sacrifice your only qb. Also if it really does cost a mil to bring in a good transfer qb where’s PJ gonna get that?

I’m sure Pj is exploring options. But right now he doesn’t have any and he would have to tell AK that

It doesn’t seem likely that PJ initiated this transfer. He doesn’t have much to fall back on.

I didn't say he sacrificed him (I would hope he didn't). I'm saying PJ put out an offer to a grad transfer QB and then everything else ensued. PJ very well could have told AK he'd like to have him back, but that he's going to bring in competition. Also, I doubt UNH grad transfer cost $1 mil.

 

[Bob_Loblaw]

I'm not a scout, but I think Kaliakmanis would do better in a more wide-open system. It just seemed he did better with his legs as a freshman than he did this year.

I think his stats would clearly be better but I would be really worried about his ability to go through his reads and his accuracy issues. If you're in a wide open system, you absolutely cannot miss the easy throws.


One thing that does happen when you're a run/run/pass team is that your QBs are facing a ton of 3rd and 8s, 3rd and 7s, etc. Those are really difficult situations for any QB, much less someone as a first year starter. So AK will likely get more early down passing attempts.

 

[SeaBee_Gopher]

I love all the speculation!!! very few of you have it right, but all of you think you do.

I know nothing of the situation but it sure is fun reading your posts.

Oh yeah..... NIL is the only way this team will ever win the games you want and expect them to win. $$$$

I love college football but NIL and free agency is ruining it.

Go Gophers!

Hahaha! The great thing about speculation is no one seems to keep track of their losers, just their winners. It's very similar when people - professionals or novices - brag about their stock picks.

Like you, I love college football, but think NIL and the portal do get "fixed" to some degree very soon. Only a very small number of universities with very deep pockets seem to like it. Even some of the national powers, Alabama, for one, don't like it. They liked the days when they could just scoop up all the good players in their area and sit on them for 3-4 years. Now, half leave if they don't play right away messing with their depth and development too.

I think primarily only the schools with very deep pocket donors like it - Oregon, Miami, etc. Miami just flipped the #4 d-tackle in 2024 from Ohio State. The kid was from Illinois! Miami didn't get him because of performance on the field, I can tell you that! He probably got a big bag of money!!! It is complete chaos right now and can't continue! So there, I've now speculated about the future and will definitely NOT remind you of this later if I'm wrong.

 

[Pompous Elitist]

@Pompous Elitist that either gets us what we’ve been getting or gets us lower than that.

Your post was that Fleck shouldn’t promise playing time.

Taking that away and with what we have left to offer, and then everything going against us right now, is only going to get guys who have no other (bona fide, commitable) P5 offers.

Betting the farm on an unknown like AK would have been a fireable offense pre-NIL. Now they can get a qb without problem, as necessary.

 

[kisarazu]

I made it through page 1. A gopher player leaves and GH determines it was the team that wanted him out. A tradition as old as GH. Let’s not forget that it won’t hurt us and the replacement coming in is a “can’t miss”.

I mean math says the Gophers are likely to find a starting QB that results with a better QBR than 81st in the FBS. Guess we'll find out.

 

[Tlsbhansen]

I mean math says the Gophers are likely to find a starting QB that results with a better QBR than 81st in the FBS. Guess we'll find out.

Especially if there are no changes to the offensive strategy or coaches. We may get an answer to the question whether it is the player or the coaching.

 

[Spoofin]

I mean math says the Gophers are likely to find a starting QB that results with a better QBR than 81st in the FBS. Guess we'll find out.

Currently on our roster for next year we have a walk-on red-shirt freshman that has never taken a snap. Whether or not AK would have started next year, we will not be better off with him leaving.

 

[Word]

Currently on our roster for next year we have a walk-on red-shirt freshman that has never taken a snap. Whether or not AK would have started next year, we will not be better off with him leaving.

I heard we were getting a mythical QB. That sounds pretty good if you ask me.

 

[Gopher_In_NYC]

Certainly the exception and not the norm, but what Lincoln Riley did with Baker Mayfield comes pretty close to "make a QB not suck".

Bakes was B10 offensive freshman of the year at Texas Tech, so far from sizing last time I checked.

EDIT: after thinking more on it, two things come to mind. We probably won't get to see Lincoln Riley do it again anytime soon, as now his reputation means he'll only be looking at top-notch QBs for the foreseeable future. Also, not sure how to classify Steve Spurrier's fun and gun. His QBs didn't do much in the NFL, so was he making them not suck? I honestly don't know this one, as it pre-dates my time a little bit.

 

[Dakota2]

Strong

a lot of this comes back to the same question - is Fleck willing to change or capable of changing his approach when it comes to QB play and the passing game?

obviously, we don't know what is happening inside the program. all we can base an opinion on is what we see - and what we see is a program that struggles to pass the ball effectively, and a program where QB's are leaving via the portal in droves.

looking at the situation, do you conclude that everything is fine - or do you conclude that some changes may be required to attract and keep a quality QB?

If I'm a portal QB looking at MN, I am going to want some pretty strong assurances that I am being brought in to play QB. if they want a guy to hand the ball off 45 times, they can get one anywhere.

Strong assurances mean nothing. A transfer is going to look at the body of work and assume strong assurances to the contrary is a con.

 

[Torres9]

Currently on our roster for next year we have a walk-on red-shirt freshman that has never taken a snap. Whether or not AK would have started next year, we will not be better off with him leaving.

Exactly this. Best case scenario is we get a good transfer and have no depth at all. No chance PJ decided to move on. More likely AK didn’t have confidence that he could succeed here (whether that’s a lack of self awareness or an indictment of the coaching staff, no idea)

 

[nitramnaed]

Viotto leaving is interesting. Will be curious to learn more about that.

Athan leaving is 100% because PJ offered a grad transfer QB. Even if AK thinks he can beat out the grad transfer, he probably didn't like the idea of having to compete for the starting spot. Didn't like the lack of confidence from the coach (I'd probably do the same thing in his position). I'm not going to post the stats again but AK, statistically-speaking, is one of the worst all-time Gopher QBs. ANY coach that has a QB like that is going to explore options.

Worse than "Mankato Jesus"?

 

[BilldGopher]

I think his stats would clearly be better but I would be really worried about his ability to go through his reads and his accuracy issues. If you're in a wide open system, you absolutely cannot miss the easy throws.


One thing that does happen when you're a run/run/pass team is that your QBs are facing a ton of 3rd and 8s, 3rd and 7s, etc. Those are really difficult situations for any QB, much less someone as a first year starter. So AK will likely get more early down passing attempts.

For the Gophers this year is the on-the-field result a "losing Mo hangover" that with the RB injuries was just exacerbated? Just a thought for the cards that were dealt...

 

[Panthadad2]

Worse than "Mankato Jesus"?

Believe it or not, AK had a lower passer rating this year than Phil did in 2013 (albeit not by much) when Jerry benched him for Leidner.

 

[Bob_Loblaw]

For the Gophers this year is the on-the-field result a "losing Mo hangover" that with the RB injuries was just exacerbated? Just a thought for the cards that were dealt...

I don't know if it's a hangover as much as it is that a player of Mo's caliber could cover up some warts. One of those warts is our playcalling (IMO). Run/Run/Pass works much better with Mo than it does an average Big 10 RB.

 

[Panthadad2]

I don't know if it's a hangover as much as it is that a player of Mo's caliber could cover up some warts. One of those warts is our playcalling (IMO). Run/Run/Pass works much better with Mo than it does an average Big 10 RB.

I wish extended stats were available that showed run/pass tendencies by down. I got the feeling that the Gophs passed more on 1st and 2nd down during conference play this year than past years, but can't prove it. The passing game on early downs was unreliable enough that they still faced way too many 3rd and longs.

 

[Bob_Loblaw]

I wish extended stats were available that showed run/pass tendencies by down. I got the feeling that the Gophs passed more on 1st and 2nd down during conference play this year than past years, but can't prove it. The passing game on early downs was unreliable enough that they still faced way too many 3rd and longs.

Yeah, I think you're probably right. They passed more on first down than last year.