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cheeseheadgophfan

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Putting the injury aside (I hope he heals quick).....the kid was DEALING before he got hurt.

7-9 80 yards in a little more than a quarter (with I believe one drop). He has an NFL caliber arm. He makes throws that I haven't seen from a Gopher quarterback in my lifetime. The 15-20 yard out he threw from the opposite hash in a perfect spot was a WOW throw....I don't think Cousins would try to make that throw.

So excited to see him next year. The offense has to be tweaked to take advantage of him (which i think we saw a bit of yesterday). The drop off from Mo to whoever is HUGE.
 




cheeseheadgophfan said:
Putting the injury aside (I hope he heals quick).....the kid was DEALING before he got hurt.

7-9 80 yards in a little more than a quarter (with I believe one drop). He has an NFL caliber arm. He makes throws that I haven't seen from a Gopher quarterback in my lifetime. The 15-20 yard out he threw from the opposite hash in a perfect spot was a WOW throw....I don't think Cousins would try to make that throw.

So excited to see him next year. The offense has to be tweaked to take advantage of him (which i think we saw a bit of yesterday). The drop off from Mo to whoever is HUGE.
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This was his best outing so far. He was poised out there. Looking forward to seeing him for the next years.
 



Big off season on tap for Athan. Working with the receivers and really taking the reigns of the offense. Had a great game against Wisconsin and was following it up with a great performance in the bowl game before he got hurt.

Will be exciting to see what he can do as the clear cut #1 guy heading into spring and the 2023 season.
 


cheeseheadgophfan said:
Putting the injury aside (I hope he heals quick).....the kid was DEALING before he got hurt.

7-9 80 yards in a little more than a quarter (with I believe one drop). He has an NFL caliber arm. He makes throws that I haven't seen from a Gopher quarterback in my lifetime. The 15-20 yard out he threw from the opposite hash in a perfect spot was a WOW throw....I don't think Cousins would try to make that throw.

So excited to see him next year. The offense has to be tweaked to take advantage of him (which i think we saw a bit of yesterday). The drop off from Mo to whoever is HUGE.
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That throw to the opposite side on that out route was something I’ve never seen a Gopher QB do before.
 



The thing that sticks out to me most is just how strong an arm he has. Morgan was a very good college QB, and Kaliakmanis can make throws Morgan could never dream of making. Arm strength is of course not everything but if his game sense and other things progress the right way that arm may give him a chance to play on Sundays.
 


cheeseheadgophfan said:
Putting the injury aside (I hope he heals quick).....the kid was DEALING before he got hurt.

7-9 80 yards in a little more than a quarter (with I believe one drop). He has an NFL caliber arm. He makes throws that I haven't seen from a Gopher quarterback in my lifetime. The 15-20 yard out he threw from the opposite hash in a perfect spot was a WOW throw....I don't think Cousins would try to make that throw.

So excited to see him next year. The offense has to be tweaked to take advantage of him (which i think we saw a bit of yesterday). The drop off from Mo to whoever is HUGE.
Click to expand...
The pass you are referring to was to Brockington, I believe. The throw was an absolute cannon.
 




Very excited to possibly see the gophers transition to a pass-first offense. I think Athan is the perfect guy to lead that style of offense. Best QB at scrambling/running since Gray?
 

Hope that Athan's College Career is better than Cousin's was, at least the post-season part.

2009 - Michigan State was 6-7 and they lost to Texas Tech in the Alamo Bowl
2010 - MSU was 11-2 and lost in the Capital One Bowl in Orlando
2011 - MSU was 11-3 and lost the Big Ten Championship Game but then beat a 10-4 Georgia team in the Outback Bowl.
 

cheeseheadgophfan said:
Putting the injury aside (I hope he heals quick).....the kid was DEALING before he got hurt.

7-9 80 yards in a little more than a quarter (with I believe one drop). He has an NFL caliber arm. He makes throws that I haven't seen from a Gopher quarterback in my lifetime. The 15-20 yard out he threw from the opposite hash in a perfect spot was a WOW throw....I don't think Cousins would try to make that throw.

So excited to see him next year. The offense has to be tweaked to take advantage of him (which i think we saw a bit of yesterday). The drop off from Mo to whoever is HUGE.
Click to expand...
The offense has to be more balanced; also, the coaches should rethink the long count for every play - it has both an obvious upside (run the clock, keep opponent's offense off the field), but some drawbacks, too (didn't work against Syracuse, we needed more plays), dulls momentum, tends toward too much running.
 



Athan in his short time has shown:

1.) He can make all the throws, which will spread the field out as coverage will need to be extended.
2.) He has good field vision, meaning he doesn't seem to lock into a receiver and is aware of secondary options.
3.) He can handle the pressure. I don't think big moments are to big for him. He stood strong at Penn State and WI.
 

gophernut1 said:
Athan in his short time has shown:

1.) He can make all the throws, which will spread the field out as coverage will need to be extended.
2.) He has good field vision, meaning he doesn't seem to lock into a receiver and is aware of secondary options.
3.) He can handle the pressure. I don't think big moments are to big for him. He stood strong at Penn State and WI.
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You nailed it, especially your last point.

I am impressed with the athletic talent like everyone else, but the poise, the overall demeanor, the ability to perform in a big spot is what I really like about him.
 

Yes, I'm hoping the Greek Freak will use his legs more and run for first downs as needed. (unlike Morgan). BUT, as noted above, with running comes hits and greater chance of injury. And he's not built like the tank Leidner was.
 

RememberMurray said:
You nailed it, especially your last point.

I am impressed with the athletic talent like everyone else, but the poise, the overall demeanor, the ability to perform in a big spot is what I really like about him.
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LOL

That's what I thought when I wanted to start him. You went nuts.

Make this a pay site, Mods.
 

DoubleDeckerDons said:
Very excited to possibly see the gophers transition to a pass-first offense. I think Athan is the perfect guy to lead that style of offense. Best QB at scrambling/running since Gray?
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That would be Leidner. I sure as heck hope AK never runs as much either Gray or Leidner because he won't last very long.
 

Wonder how much NIL $$$ will it take to have him finish his career at Minnesota?
 

Interesting admission by Ciarrocca that the Gophs were holding the reins tight on AK until the WI game. I suppose that's something we already know.

How will the Gophers football team look in 2023?

"Gophers offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca said he felt Kaliakmanis was “ready” for more after watching film of the 13-10 loss to Iowa on Nov. 19.

“He can do more for us,” Ciarrocca recalled. “Let’s let him go a little bit more with it.”

In his fourth career start in the regular-season finale, the redshirt freshman quarterback set career highs in completions (19), attempts (29), passing yards (319) and touchdowns (2) in a 23-16 win over Wisconsin at Camp Randall Stadium.

Ciarrocca opened the playbook up much more for Kaliakmanis against the Badgers compared to the parred-down script for his first start in front of a crowd of nearly 110,000 in Penn State’s White Out game on Oct. 22.

“I’m always going to err on the side of protecting a young quarterback,” Ciarrocca said. “… Been that way my whole career with it. But he’s just grown by leaps and bounds. It’s a credit to him, honestly. He sees this potential that he has in him, and he’s been able to put the action behind that potential to turn it into productivity.”
 


BilldGopher said:
Who would'a thunk that optimism would once again return to Gopher Nation...

View attachment 22844

HAPPY NEW YEAR!
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Literally 2 posts before this Philo was wondering how much NIL money it will take to keep AK at Minnesota. So yeah....the pessimism of this forum will never be far away and we will always have plenty of posters waiting for their chance to drag everyone back down who might actually feel decent about the team. :)
 

Lincoln gopher said:
The pass you are referring to was to Brockington, I believe. The throw was an absolute cannon.
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This pass (and one over the middle between 2 defenders a few plays earlier) were passes "Morgan can't make". Doesnt have the arm strength.

This same statement of fact got the rubes' undies in a huge bunch on the bowl gamethread. LoL "You're ATTACKING POOR TANNER!!"

Incidentally, this pass is also the play where AK got injured.

We'll see, but AK has a chance to be really special.
 

MNVCGUY said:
Literally 2 posts before this Philo was wondering how much NIL money it will take to keep AK at Minnesota. So yeah....the pessimism of this forum will never be far away and we will always have plenty of posters waiting for their chance to drag everyone back down who might actually feel decent about the team. :)
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Pessimism or reality? NIL is real, transfer rules are real, opposing college program poaching other teams athletes is real. So how much NIL $$ will it take to keep him here?
 


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