Despite Penn State loss, Athan Kaliakmanis offers intriguing glimpse of Gophers football future

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BleedGopher

BleedGopher

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Per Randy:

"He handled himself very well," Fleck said. "Now again, we're gonna nitpick how we played, but to handle your first start in front of 110,000 people on the road, I couldn't be more proud of him, just taking on that challenge."

While Kaliakmanis' stats might not show it — 9-for-22 passing, 175 yards, one touchdown, one interception — he brought a presence that the Gophers needed. He gave the offense the added dimension of a running threat at QB as he rushed seven times for 45 yards and took only one sack for 1 yard.

"I told you he'd be poised," Fleck said. "I'm not sure how many plays he'd be rattled. I'd love to be able to see those on film. I didn't see it. He was confident the entire time."

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Go Gophers!!
 

BleedGopher said:
Per Randy:

"He handled himself very well," Fleck said. "Now again, we're gonna nitpick how we played, but to handle your first start in front of 110,000 people on the road, I couldn't be more proud of him, just taking on that challenge."

While Kaliakmanis' stats might not show it — 9-for-22 passing, 175 yards, one touchdown, one interception — he brought a presence that the Gophers needed. He gave the offense the added dimension of a running threat at QB as he rushed seven times for 45 yards and took only one sack for 1 yard.

"I told you he'd be poised," Fleck said. "I'm not sure how many plays he'd be rattled. I'd love to be able to see those on film. I didn't see it. He was confident the entire time."

m.startribune.com

Star Tribune

Your source for Minnesota news today. Read articles, view photos or watch videos about news in Minneapolis, St. Paul, Duluth, St. Cloud, Rochester, and beyond.
m.startribune.com m.startribune.com

Go Gophers!!
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He needs to play; whether it’s alternating series or something else.

He needs game reps for next year and this also might give Tanner a kick in the pants as well
 
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Those stats are a little misleading, there was at least 2-3 drops and he placed the ball perfectly on a bunch of others. Sometimes the D made a great play on the ball and many times the receiver didn’t win the 50/50 ball (more like 80-20 or 90-10 against recently). Loved the wheel route to 21, need more of that! How about a screen since they send everyone half the time?
 




I saw enough to be optimistic for him to take the reins next year. He had some pretty serious happy feet on his dropbacks, but he certainly has the arm talent to make some big plays. There’s not much a freshman QB will be able to do when a defense can just send massive blitzes and lock every receiver down in man coverage.
 

upnorthkid said:
Everything I saw from him says he’s the starter the rest of the year. Let Tanner slide into a “mentor”
Role and you get ready for next year while giving him some seasoning
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Zero chance this happens. If Morgan is healthy he will get his starting job back. I hope this was a signal that AK is the guy next year and that he will get any and all backup snaps that are available between now and the end of the year. But Morgan will be the starter if he is healthy.
 

upnorthkid said:
Everything I saw from him says he’s the starter the rest of the year. Let Tanner slide into a “mentor”
Role and you get ready for next year while giving him some seasoning
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Yes it helps him for next year. But that is not a good reason to play him with more than half the conference season yet to play. The only reason to play him is that his mobility and stronger arm give us a better chance to win the last five games.
 

fair said:
I saw enough to be optimistic for him to take the reins next year. He had some pretty serious happy feet on his dropbacks, but he certainly has the arm talent to make some big plays. There’s not much a freshman QB will be able to do when a defense can just send massive blitzes and lock every receiver down in man coverage.
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His happy feet turned several disasters into 45 yards rushing and some first downs. He also avoided the rush and threw it away a few times when he had nothing. Very composed and good decisions.
 



MNVCGUY said:
Zero chance this happens. If Morgan is healthy he will get his starting job back. I hope this was a signal that AK is the guy next year and that he will get any and all backup snaps that are available between now and the end of the year. But Morgan will be the starter if he is healthy.
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Have no doubt you are right. It will be a big mistake.
 


MNVCGUY said:
Zero chance this happens. If Morgan is healthy he will get his starting job back. I hope this was a signal that AK is the guy next year and that he will get any and all backup snaps that are available between now and the end of the year. But Morgan will be the starter if he is healthy.
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Agreed. You don't sit one of the most veteran quarterbacks in college football history with a very good winning percentage as a starter in his final year when you are still battling for bowl eligibility and record. Tanner has faced all of these teams multiple times and no other QB knows this team like Tanner.
 

Dakota2 said:
Yes it helps him for next year. But that is not a good reason to play him with more than half the conference season yet to play. The only reason to play him is that his mobility and stronger arm give us a better chance to win the last five games.
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I would argue with this line yes he does give us a better chance to win. That would included in the “everything I saw “ part
 



upnorthkid said:
I would argue with this line yes he does give us a better chance to win. That would included in the “everything I saw “ part
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Despite being under heavy pressure all night he was sacked once for a 1-yd loss. He turned some pressures into first downs and rushed for 45 yards. Morgan does not do any of that against Penn St.
 

Dakota2 said:
Despite being under heavy pressure all night he was sacked once for a 1-yd loss. He turned some pressures into first downs and rushed for 45 yards. Morgan does not do any of that against Penn St.
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Agreed fully. Personally thought he looked better than his stat line and most certainly was not helped but much of anyone on offense aside from Mo and occasionally BSF
 

I want the starting QB to be whoever the coaching staff believes can best get the team to 9-3 regular season. Period. This, of course, means taking into account the current state of what defenses are doing (constant plus-numbers blitzing), the o-line, receivers, and which RBs are healthy. Morgan has loads more experience and knowledge of what's going on. It seems like AK has more ability to create on his own.
 

upnorthkid said:
Agreed fully. Personally thought he looked better than his stat line and most certainly was not helped but much of anyone on offense aside from Mo and occasionally BSF
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I was watching BTN last night and Joshua Perry (a guy I think is getting better every year at what he does) said he can't understand why a 6'7" TE like BSF is not used more often, especially to get this Minn. offense out of its funk.
 

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