Has AK landed with a new team?


2022 Wisconsin game was quite a good performance.

Something happened. Don't know if it was spring, summer, fall or some cominbation of all. If it was a special QB private coaching or if it Greg Harbaugh. But something definitely broke.
Kaliakmanis had a great Wisconsin game
Croft had a great Nebraska game

Possible those are outliers and not the norm.


“AK played great once so clearly that’s the norm and the other 15 games are bad coaching”
-MPLS GOPHER
 

Kaliakmanis had a great Wisconsin game
Croft had a great Nebraska game

Possible those are outliers and not the norm.


“AK played great once so clearly that’s the norm and the other 15 games are bad coaching”
-MPLS GOPHER
This. Less than qualified players punch above their weight every now and again but can't reproduce the success. AK punched above his weight for a game or maybe a game and half. Josh Dobbs did the same for the Vikings. Neither is a quality starting quarterback at their level.

And I don't understand why AK rated so high or was so highly regarded coming out of high school. The apologists pointed to his upside or potential and the fact that he didn't have a senior season because of Covid and was hurt most of his junior season of high school. So what evidence was there that AK was a B1G QB? Not playing and not having a track record does not mean high upside. If there was a coaching failure, it was assuming that a program that hasn't developed a quarterback could develop a quarterback who it really hadn't seen in live action in four years.
 

I've played on a good team. Stop it. Go back and look at the stats in the non-con blowouts the past few years.
I don’t know what this means, but PJ never puts his back ups in during blowouts. Maverick got hurt during garbage time this year. Just one example. Fought that injury for two months.
 

Kaliakmanis had a great Wisconsin game
Croft had a great Nebraska game

Possible those are outliers and not the norm.


“AK played great once so clearly that’s the norm and the other 15 games are bad coaching”
-MPLS GOPHER
The Croft game is a bad example. It was a good game because of his running. He only threw for 105 in that game. AK was throwing dimes all over the place against WI. Made great decisions.

I think AK has the physical talent to play at this level. Just mentally couldn't figure it out. Everything seemed too fast for him.
 


2022 Wisconsin game was quite a good performance.

Something happened. Don't know if it was spring, summer, fall or some cominbation of all. If it was a special QB private coaching or if it Greg Harbaugh. But something definitely broke.
His QB coach was Fleck. AK was wound up so tight he was paralyzed with the ball in his hand.
 

The Croft game is a bad example. It was a good game because of his running. He only threw for 105 in that game. AK was throwing dimes all over the place against WI. Made great decisions.

I think AK has the physical talent to play at this level. Just mentally couldn't figure it out. Everything seemed too fast for him.
He was mentally loose as a freshman, feeling little self-inflicted pressure. In ‘23 Fleck took on the challenge of being AK’s special QB coach. The result was a kid so terrified of making mistake he was paralyzed.
 

The Croft game is a bad example. It was a good game because of his running. He only threw for 105 in that game. AK was throwing dimes all over the place against WI. Made great decisions.

I think AK has the physical talent to play at this level. Just mentally couldn't figure it out. Everything seemed too fast for him.
The AK WI is a bad example because of YAC
 

He was mentally loose as a freshman, feeling little self-inflicted pressure. In ‘23 Fleck took on the challenge of being AK’s special QB coach. The result was a kid so terrified of making mistake he was paralyzed.
Guy with longest leash in America is terrified of short leash.

If what you say is true, AK is bad because he is a soft little bitch.
 




This. Less than qualified players punch above their weight every now and again but can't reproduce the success. AK punched above his weight for a game or maybe a game and half. Josh Dobbs did the same for the Vikings. Neither is a quality starting quarterback at their level.

And I don't understand why AK rated so high or was so highly regarded coming out of high school. The apologists pointed to his upside or potential and the fact that he didn't have a senior season because of Covid and was hurt most of his junior season of high school. So what evidence was there that AK was a B1G QB? Not playing and not having a track record does not mean high upside. If there was a coaching failure, it was assuming that a program that hasn't developed a quarterback could develop a quarterback who it really hadn't seen in live action in four years.
I wonder if there is a pattern of big JR ratings…. And if you don’t play then nobody re-evaluates and the ratings stay up?

Either way I think AK was always a 4* “project” to some extent, similar to Faalele.
 





They did. I was talking specifically about YAC.
Yeah. A lot of YAC that day. I’d have to rewatch the game but we might remembering differently


This isn’t every throw but there are 83 YAC yards just in this.
 
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133 YAC out of 319 passing yards per PFF. Not sure how good that is or not.

BSF: 49 YAC of 95
Wright: 33 of of 86
Jackson: 16 of of 86
Brockington: 35 of 52
Yeah. AK had a great day.
Every QB gets YAC
But between YAC and two ridiculous catches (I think brockington on the sideline and wright mossing a guy), AK have the team a chance and guys made plays

AK also took multiple bad sacks that day.


If AK could play like that and get WR play like that all year in 2023 we would all be in better moods. But that Wisconsin game he wasn’t Payton Manning or anything
 




This. Less than qualified players punch above their weight every now and again but can't reproduce the success. AK punched above his weight for a game or maybe a game and half. Josh Dobbs did the same for the Vikings. Neither is a quality starting quarterback at their level.

And I don't understand why AK rated so high or was so highly regarded coming out of high school. The apologists pointed to his upside or potential and the fact that he didn't have a senior season because of Covid and was hurt most of his junior season of high school. So what evidence was there that AK was a B1G QB? Not playing and not having a track record does not mean high upside. If there was a coaching failure, it was assuming that a program that hasn't developed a quarterback could develop a quarterback who it really hadn't seen in live action in four years.
He didn't have a junior season either. Guy has raw talent. Question is whether it can be developed at the P5 level.
 

Should be looking at the MVFC. Zach A. was a better talent than AK and went there and did fine at Illinois State.
 

He didn't have a junior season either. Guy has raw talent. Question is whether it can be developed at the P5 level.
Big arm. Big frame

Late with ball.
Seemed to be less accurate than I thought coming into the year.
But the biggest problem is late with the ball. And that was true in 2022 and 2023. He even took sacks he shouldn’t have in the Wisconsin game he played so well in
 



So it was the one big Brockington catch and run. Everything else was average or below.

Happens all the time.
 

So it was the one big Brockington catch and run. Everything else was average or below.

Happens all the time.
It does. YAC happens all the time, you are correct.

Brockington didn’t even lead the team in YAC though.
 


Big arm. Big frame

Late with ball.
Seemed to be less accurate than I thought coming into the year.
But the biggest problem is late with the ball. And that was true in 2022 and 2023. He even took sacks he shouldn’t have in the Wisconsin game he played so well in
This is the scary thing about AK for me. He didn't have a great feel for the game. I don't know if that can be coached or really fixed. I think mechanics can improve, decision making can improve, physical traits can improve.

There are things he struggled with that just come naturally with good players. Could it be because PJ had him wound super tight? Absolutely. Our playcalling didn't do him any favors.

If he wanted his easiest path to P5 football, he should have stayed here. He'd have been competing with 1 person who is an unknown. Compete with him for a job and worst case scenario you're the primary backup and you can transfer next season (similar path to ZA).

I don't mean this as a slight to him, but I don't think he necessarily wants competition and if that's the case, he'll have to end up at MVFC.
 

This is the scary thing about AK for me. He didn't have a great feel for the game. I don't know if that can be coached or really fixed. I think mechanics can improve, decision making can improve, physical traits can improve.

There are things he struggled with that just come naturally with good players. Could it be because PJ had him wound super tight? Absolutely. Our playcalling didn't do him any favors.

If he wanted his easiest path to P5 football, he should have stayed here. He'd have been competing with 1 person who is an unknown. Compete with him for a job and worst case scenario you're the primary backup and you can transfer next season (similar path to ZA).

I don't mean this as a slight to him, but I don't think he necessarily wants competition and if that's the case, he'll have to end up at MVFC.
I think the only way he realizes his potential is by playing football successfully and getting faster with his decision making. He was overwhelmed by the speed of the game at this level in my opinion. And that’s why he even would miss easy physical plays.

He should go down a level. Start, have success. And if it goes really well, he can still get drafted or grad transfer back up later.
 





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