Big Ten Quarterbacks 2023 (10. Minnesota Golden Gophers, Starter: Athan Kaliakmanis)

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10. Minnesota Golden Gophers​

Starter: Athan Kaliakmanis​

Backups: Cole Kramer, Jacob Knuth, Drew Viotto​

Long live Tanner Morgan. The 19 year starter for the Gophs is finally gone, and the era of the Greek Rifle has begun. Former four star recruit Athan Kaliakmanis did get some run last year when Morgan got hurt, and showed enough to get Gopher fans excited. While the game plan was pretty conservative in most of the games he played, he did torch Wisconsin for 319 yards and two touchdowns.

Behind him is longtime backup Kramer, as well as the young guys in Knuth and Viotto. To be honest, this was a tough call. The Greek Rifle did show something last season, enough to make fans justifiably excited. On the other hand, his OC, Kirk Ciarrocca, went to Rutgers. Incoming is Greg Harbaugh, who is definitely not related to Jim Harbaugh. In fact, he doesn’t even pronounce it the same, going with “Har-boe” like Greta Garbo. Can off-brand Harbaugh keep the Gopher train rolling? We’ll see, but we have enough question marks to keep the Gophs in double digits in these rankings.

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Big Ten Quarterbacks 2023: The Meh

These guys are definitely playing for their teams
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Go Gophers!!
 







Let's start by listing which Big Ten QBs MIGHT be better than Kaliakmanis. The Michigan Qb? sorry, he makes more plays w his feet than his arm. Who else? Stroud is gone at Ohio State. I'm waiting ...
 

Guy from wisconsins 10 touchdowns and 9 interceptions in the 6 losses he started in gets him in the top 7 apparently

Mordecai is Mertz in the American conference
 

The prez sez said:
Let's start by listing which Big Ten QBs MIGHT be better than Kaliakmanis. The Michigan Qb? sorry, he makes more plays w his feet than his arm. Who else? Stroud is gone at Ohio State. I'm waiting ...
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Would you be happy with a QB with a155 Rating with 22 TD/5 INT? Or 3000yds passing with 143 rating and 18TD/8INT?
 



I might be drinking the kool-aid a bit too religiously, but I'm expecting big things from this kid. He has so much flash.
 

Bayfieldgopher said:
Would you be happy with a QB with a155 Rating with 22 TD/5 INT? Or 3000yds passing with 143 rating and 18TD/8INT?
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Assuming our run game doesn’t nose dive, either of those stat lines should lead to a very good season.
 

Lot of unproven QBs. Outside of Taulia and JJ it’s kind of going to be a toss up. Hard to compare guys in different systems surrounded with different levels of talent.
 

Based on his stats, ranking him above 10 isn't the easiest thing to do. He completed 54% of passes, 3 TD's to 4 Int's and has new position and coordinating coaches this year. I hope he makes the leap to compete with Morgan's career numbers. Blend it with some yards with his feet and he has a shot to move of the list quickly.
 



MaxyJR1 said:
Based on his stats, ranking him above 10 isn't the easiest thing to do. He completed 54% of passes, 3 TD's to 4 Int's and has new position and coordinating coaches this year. I hope he makes the leap to compete with Morgan's career numbers. Blend it with some yards with his feet and he has a shot to move of the list quickly.
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Agree. He's new. New year. Fans are thinking he is the next Peyton Manning. If he ends up in the top half of the conference ratings that would be a win for the gophers.
 

The prez sez said:
Let's start by listing which Big Ten QBs MIGHT be better than Kaliakmanis. The Michigan Qb? sorry, he makes more plays w his feet than his arm. Who else? Stroud is gone at Ohio State. I'm waiting ...
Click to expand...
So where would you rank him?
 

MaxyJR1 said:
Based on his stats, ranking him above 10 isn't the easiest thing to do. He completed 54% of passes, 3 TD's to 4 Int's and has new position and coordinating coaches this year. I hope he makes the leap to compete with Morgan's career numbers. Blend it with some yards with his feet and he has a shot to move of the list quickly.
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And the least experienced OL in the Big Ten based on career starts
 

gopherbadgerman said:
So where would you rank him?
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Much better than 10, but ranking QBs is an exercise in futility. I just think AK has tremendous upside and we will see it this year. Great arm, good mobility. Now he just needs to do it on the field. I just look at the Michigan and MSU quarterbacks as comparison, and I would take AK.
 

The prez sez said:
Much better than 10, but ranking QBs is an exercise in futility. I just think AK has tremendous upside and we will see it this year. Great arm, good mobility. Now he just needs to do it on the field. I just look at the Michigan and MSU quarterbacks as comparison, and I would take AK.
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Time will tell. I hope you are right
 

The prez sez said:
Much better than 10, but ranking QBs is an exercise in futility. I just think AK has tremendous upside and we will see it this year. Great arm, good mobility. Now he just needs to do it on the field. I just look at the Michigan and MSU quarterbacks as comparison, and I would take AK.
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That's a solid, accurate assessment. Even though he had a rough start today, he bounced back well.

He makes throws that most college starting QBs simply can't make.

You're also correct on his mobility. He isn't a great runner, but he seems to move around in the pocket well and is usually pretty productive when he decides to turn it upfield.

I think the quality that is most overlooked in Kaliakmanis is his demeanor. He shakes off bad plays quickly. The pressure of big moments never seems to rattle him. The game never gets to be too big or too fast for him.
 
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RememberMurray said:
That's a solid, accurate assessment. Even though he had a rough start today, he bounced back well.

He makes throws that most college starting QBs simply can't make.

You're also correct on his mobility. He isn't a great runner, but he seems to move around in the pocket well and is usually pretty productive when he decides to turn it upfield.

I think the quality that is most overlooked in Kaliakmanis is his demeanor. He shakes off bad plays quickly. The pressure of big moments never seems to rattle him. The game never gets to be too big or too fast for him.
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Didn't see it so appreciate observations large or small.
 



salzie said:
Looks like Wisconsin and Iowa are considered a tier ahead of us at QB
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Mordecai on his debut drive threw it directly to the safety who was just pretty much just standing there. Complete with stare down and late delivery. Nerves, needs an eye exam, or honoring his Sconnie predecessor.

Not sure how you fix that.
 

MordecaI throws another horrible pass to the defense. On same drive would have been intercepted earlier if defender didn’t fall down.

It’s early, but man he looks absolutely terrible. Mediocre arm with wierd delivery, inaccurate, and worse decisions. How did he throw for 70 some TDs the last few years at SMU?
 

Tosses a third one to the defense on third drive. Calling it now, he will not do well versus Big Ten defenses.
 

That’s four interceptions in four drives. This one -technically- went through the hands of the receiver but maybe spiral issues. So, 3/4 maybe 3.5 the fault of the QB.
 

RememberMurray said:
That's a solid, accurate assessment. Even though he had a rough start today, he bounced back well.

He makes throws that most college starting QBs simply can't make.

You're also correct on his mobility. He isn't a great runner, but he seems to move around in the pocket well and is usually pretty productive when he decides to turn it upfield.

I think the quality that is most overlooked in Kaliakmanis is his demeanor. He shakes off bad plays quickly. The pressure of big moments never seems to rattle him. The game never gets to be too big or too fast for him.
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Wait, what?

LMAO
 


They have Mordecai at #6. So he's 4 spots ahead of Athan...as many INTs as he threw in the spring game.
 

jonnyganas said:
They have Mordecai at #6. So he's 4 spots ahead of Athan...as many INTs as he threw in the spring game.
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Lol. But considering he’s thrown for about 7k yards and 70tds over the past couple years I can see why he’s ranked higher.
 

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