Has AK landed with a new team?

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Some guy said:
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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You and Bob summed it up perfectly - late on throws, no feel for the game.

In practice he never had to worry about getting hit. It is much easier to complete throws when you mentally know you are not going to get blown up. In a game situation, the guys were coming after him hard. Now he is trying to make quick decisions while under duress. That is where I feel things fell apart.

A player that is confident in their abilities is not threatened by competition (or getting chewed out). A player that is insecure will usually gravitate to a situation where they have the advantage again.
 


gopherbadgerman said:
Why a silent commitment?
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Maybe you could argue it would be a distraction for Wimsatt going into the bowl game? Let him and the team have this moment before dropping the gauntlet that he will be competing for his starting job next year?
 

DarthGopher said:
You and Bob summed it up perfectly - late on throws, no feel for the game.

In practice he never had to worry about getting hit. It is much easier to complete throws when you mentally know you are not going to get blown up. In a game situation, the guys were coming after him hard. Now he is trying to make quick decisions while under duress. That is where I feel things fell apart.

A player that is confident in their abilities is not threatened by competition (or getting chewed out). A player that is insecure will usually gravitate to a situation where they have the advantage again.
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Which is why it is so hard to evaluate HS QBs

Most high school QBs who have the talent to be power 5 starters never face adversity in HS. So you never really get to evaluate how they handle adversity.
 

Some guy said:
Which is why it is so hard to evaluate HS QBs

Most high school QBs who have the talent to be power 5 starters never face adversity in HS. So you never really get to evaluate how they handle adversity.
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Guessing college defenses are harder to read too. (Part of the adversity)
 


Word said:
Guessing college defenses are harder to read too. (Part of the adversity)
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Yes. Faster and more complicated.

Its the same reason Mullins is a good enough college QB to make the nfl and then does things so dumb that 99% of high school QB’s wouldn’t do (like that int two weeks ago that he threw to the linemen laying on the ground while he was getting tackled)


Mullins isn’t dumb, but the game is so fast that his brain breaks for a minute

The straw that broke the camels back would be the analogy
 


Bob_Loblaw said:
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.
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Quarterback play is generally pretty good in the MVFC. He wouldn't see the field at SDSU, NDSU or even USD. I'm not sure what the status of the QBs at UND or UNI are but their starting quarterbacks this past season were nothing to sneeze at. ISU-r might have a spot. I find it hard to believe that anyone at any level is going to look at his body of work and give him anything more than an opportunity to come in and compete.
 

swede2 said:
Quarterback play is generally pretty good in the MVFC. He wouldn't see the field at SDSU, NDSU or even USD. I'm not sure what the status of the QBs at UND or UNI are but their starting quarterbacks this past season were nothing to sneeze at. ISU-r might have a spot. I find it hard to believe that anyone at any level is going to look at his body of work and give him anything more than an opportunity to come in and compete.
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The 2-3 year starter at UND went into the portal this year.
 





MaxyJR1 said:
I assume a silent commitment to Rutgers at this time.
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Would make a ton of sense to me, but obviously contingent on if KC has enough pull to guarantee him a spot in the QB room with a chance to compete for the job.

Seems almost impossible these days to recruit anyone to come to your program if there is even a whiff of competition.
 

Some guy said:
Brockington didn’t even lead the team in YAC though.
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Suspect you're trying to play a game between percentages and total.

Just lay it out. What were the total yards for each receiver and how much was YAC? (Also, where can one easily find these stats??)
 



Some guy said:
2022 Justin Jefferson was 34% (led league in yac yards amongst WR)
T Hill was 28%
Diggs 29%
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It's extremely suspicious to me here that you did YAC for receivers, as opposed to the actual subject of the discussion, quarterbacks.


Obviously there has always been arguments about if YAC should be included or not in QB yardage totals. For example, for 10 years ago:
w ww.reddit.com/r/nfl/comments/25xjaa/do_you_think_that_the_yards_a_receiver_runs_after/

This response is correct, hence why it was liked more than any other by a long shot:

QB's put receivers in position for YAC. They can lead receivers away from defenders just by where they throw the ball. A ball slightly underthrown for a 30 yard gain nets a 30 yard gain only but a ball thrown perfectly can turn that 30 yards into 70.
 

swede2 said:
Quarterback play is generally pretty good in the MVFC. He wouldn't see the field at SDSU, NDSU or even USD. I'm not sure what the status of the QBs at UND or UNI are but their starting quarterbacks this past season were nothing to sneeze at. ISU-r might have a spot. I find it hard to believe that anyone at any level is going to look at his body of work and give him anything more than an opportunity to come in and compete.
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There’s no way to know this. Lots of guys look terrible at the P5 D1 level and light it up in the FCS. Totally different game speed and what they ask of you. Don’t think he’d start or play at SDSU or NDSU based on what they want their qb to do (AK is not a dual threat guy).
 

MplsGopher said:
It's extremely suspicious to me here that you did YAC for receivers, as opposed to the actual subject of the discussion, quarterbacks.


Obviously there has always been arguments about if YAC should be included or not in QB yardage totals. For example, for 10 years ago:
w ww.reddit.com/r/nfl/comments/25xjaa/do_you_think_that_the_yards_a_receiver_runs_after/

This response is correct, hence why it was liked more than any other by a long shot:

QB's put receivers in position for YAC. They can lead receivers away from defenders just by where they throw the ball. A ball slightly underthrown for a 30 yard gain nets a 30 yard gain only but a ball thrown perfectly can turn that 30 yards into 70.
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None of this makes any sense. He passed the eyeball test with flying colors against Wisky last year, and looked completely different pretty much every game this year.
 

Indeed you are correct.

I'm willing to allow that maybe he went to some special QB school, camp, private coaching whatever, and that ruined him. I can buy that, though it would be extremely unfortunate.


But the far more obvious and logical reason is that his main QB coach changed from KC to Greg Harbough.
 

MplsGopher said:
Indeed you are correct.

I'm willing to allow that maybe he went to some special QB school, camp, private coaching whatever, and that ruined him. I can buy that, though it would be extremely unfortunate.


But the far more obvious and logical reason is that his main QB coach changed from KC to Greg Harbough.
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What explains his shitty play in non Wisconsin games last year?
 

https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/athan-kaliakmanis-1/gamelog/2022/

PassingRushingTackles
RkDateSchoolOpponentCmpAttPctYdsTDIntRateAttYdsAvgTDSoloAstTotLossSk
12022-09-01MinnesotaNew Mexico StateW010.00000.00000000.00.0
22022-09-10MinnesotaWestern IllinoisW33100.06700287.6111.010000.00.0
32022-09-17MinnesotaColoradoW010.00000.04102.500000.00.0
42022-09-24Minnesota@Michigan StateW000000000000.00.0
52022-10-15Minnesota@IllinoisL2633.31702-9.52-6-3.000000.00.0
62022-10-22Minnesota@Penn StateL92240.917511113.67456.400110.00.0
72022-11-05Minnesota@NebraskaW61250.013700145.93279.000000.00.0
82022-11-12MinnesotaNorthwesternW71353.8640095.24287.000000.00.0
92022-11-19MinnesotaIowaL71546.7870182.14328.000000.00.0
102022-11-26Minnesota@WisconsinW192965.531920180.77142.000000.00.0
112022-12-29MinnesotaNSyracuse*W7977.88000152.42-11-5.500000.00.0
11 Games6011154.194634127.4341404.110110.00.0



ILL - thrust into the game after Morgan gets helmet punched, can't reasonably expect much there
PSU - very difficult situation to have it be your first start, not a good performance but excusable due to situation and context
Neb, NW - played well enough to win the games, not great performances, not bad
Iowa - entirely 100% on the coaching staff. The one drive we actually threw the ball, is the only drive they scored a TD. Then handed the ball off 19248 times. Then suddenly needed a throw and he was ice cold. His throw didn't cause the interception.
Wisc - brilliant performance
Bowl Game - you can't possibly argue this was a letdown??? Sucks that get got hurt and had to come out.


I don't really see much worthy of complaining about here??

Absolutely revisionist and dishonest to call it "s___ty".
 

MplsGopher said:
https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/athan-kaliakmanis-1/gamelog/2022/

PassingRushingTackles
RkDateSchoolOpponentCmpAttPctYdsTDIntRateAttYdsAvgTDSoloAstTotLossSk
12022-09-01MinnesotaNew Mexico StateW010.00000.00000000.00.0
22022-09-10MinnesotaWestern IllinoisW33100.06700287.6111.010000.00.0
32022-09-17MinnesotaColoradoW010.00000.04102.500000.00.0
42022-09-24Minnesota@Michigan StateW000000000000.00.0
52022-10-15Minnesota@IllinoisL2633.31702-9.52-6-3.000000.00.0
62022-10-22Minnesota@Penn StateL92240.917511113.67456.400110.00.0
72022-11-05Minnesota@NebraskaW61250.013700145.93279.000000.00.0
82022-11-12MinnesotaNorthwesternW71353.8640095.24287.000000.00.0
92022-11-19MinnesotaIowaL71546.7870182.14328.000000.00.0
102022-11-26Minnesota@WisconsinW192965.531920180.77142.000000.00.0
112022-12-29MinnesotaNSyracuse*W7977.88000152.42-11-5.500000.00.0
11 Games6011154.194634127.4341404.110110.00.0



ILL - thrust into the game after Morgan gets helmet punched, can't reasonably expect much there
PSU - very difficult situation to have it be your first start, not a good performance but excusable due to situation and context
Neb, NW - played well enough to win the games, not great performances, not bad
Iowa - entirely 100% on the coaching staff. The one drive we actually threw the ball, is the only drive they scored a TD. Then handed the ball off 19248 times. Then suddenly needed a throw and he was ice cold. His throw didn't cause the interception.
Wisc - brilliant performance
Bowl Game - you can't possibly argue this was a letdown??? Sucks that get got hurt and had to come out.


I don't really see much worthy of complaining about here??

Absolutely revisionist and dishonest to call it "s___ty".
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41/82 627 yards 1 touchdown 4 interceptions
Also known as worse than he was this year

And he was pretty shitty this year


You can say whatever you want but at the end of the day people had high expectations because of his arm strength and the Wisconsin game. If you say he played well outside the Wisconsin game you’re either a liar or an idiot. Or both
 

I really feel, deep in my maroon and gold fan's soul, that decent QB play (not outstanding, just competent) would have resulted in at least two more wins this year. At least. That would have meant a better bowl game for this team.

I was disappointed — and surprised, really — by the way #8 played in 2023. Coaching is absolutely crucial for a young QB, but throwing a football accurately is as basic a skill as there is. A player at this level who is obviously gifted with a live arm should be able to show progress in accurately throwing a football, regardless of coaching input.
 

RememberMurray said:
I really feel, deep in my maroon and gold fan's soul, that decent QB play (not outstanding, just competent) would have resulted in at least two more wins this year. At least. That would have meant a better bowl game for this team.

I was disappointed — and surprised, really — by the way #8 played in 2023. Coaching is absolutely crucial for a young QB, but throwing a football accurately is as basic a skill as there is. A player at this level who is obviously gifted with a live arm should be able to show progress in accurately throwing a football, regardless of coaching input.
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I love AK as a person. Shocked too at this year. Maybe not the right environment for him. THe opening game against NEbby - that beautiful catch by DJ didnt need to be perfect if the ball was thrown one inch more accurately rather than 18 inches too far. I wish him great success and hope he makes it to SUndays. But this Gopher program needs a sure thing next year or we may be looking at a long recovery as we lose other position players while we wait for a Drake Lindsey or whoever to elevate the QB position.
 

RememberMurray said:
I really feel, deep in my maroon and gold fan's soul, that decent QB play (not outstanding, just competent) would have resulted in at least two more wins this year. At least. That would have meant a better bowl game for this team.

I was disappointed — and surprised, really — by the way #8 played in 2023. Coaching is absolutely crucial for a young QB, but throwing a football accurately is as basic a skill as there is. A player at this level who is obviously gifted with a live arm should be able to show progress in accurately throwing a football, regardless of coaching input.
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Yeah, it's really hard to give a QB easy throws (swing passes, short dump offs, WR screens) if those balls are skipped. It's a complete waste of a play whereas an incompletion on something down the field can help keep safeties honest.

The offensive coordinators did try to give AK some of those "easy throws" and for whatever reason, he was struggling on those as well.

Something was off and in my untrained opinion, I agree with you. It was off in a way that it's hard to blame on coaching - or entirely on coaching.
 

Some guy said:
He wouldn’t be the starter at Iowa though unless McNamara’s injury doesn’t recover
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just noting that McNamara's 2022 and 2023 seasons ended with knee injuries and surgeries. guessing they'll end up having to depend on Hill again this coming season.
 

GopherOhana said:
just noting that McNamara's 2022 and 2023 seasons ended with knee injuries and surgeries. guessing they'll end up having to depend on Hill again this coming season.
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Quite possible.

But I don’t think AK wants to go someplace to be mcnamaras backup
 

RememberMurray said:
I really feel, deep in my maroon and gold fan's soul, that decent QB play (not outstanding, just competent) would have resulted in at least two more wins this year. At least. That would have meant a better bowl game for this team.

I was disappointed — and surprised, really — by the way #8 played in 2023. Coaching is absolutely crucial for a young QB, but throwing a football accurately is as basic a skill as there is. A player at this level who is obviously gifted with a live arm should be able to show progress in accurately throwing a football, regardless of coaching input.
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I think he still might show progress. It just won’t be here. It’s such a hard position to play well!
 

I think coach was taken aback by the poor qb play as well. His comments about a UMn qb getting drafted preseason showed he was as sold as anyone. He had to have looked decent in practice, maybe a game pressure thing. I think it was a mental deal.
 

Tech Machine said:
I think coach was taken aback by the poor qb play as well. His comments about a UMn qb getting drafted preseason showed he was as sold as anyone. He had to have looked decent in practice, maybe a game pressure thing. I think it was a mental deal.
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As the season wore on, it looked more and more like AK had a case of the yips.

I remember the Illinois game where he missed the TE on a 4 yard dump by throwing it 200 mph and high. His reaction and body language were not good. The rest is history.

I played with a kid who was a helluva athlete and had a great arm. Except games. He would get so nervous that routine throws were anything but routine. You never knew where the hell the ball was going. Every pass was an adventure. By about mid-season I started telling him to screw perfect and just get it close. I'd take care of the rest. As if by some miracle, he started throwing much better balls when the pressure to make a perfect throw was reduced.
 

you can teach or coach a number of things - footwork, arm slot, reading keys, etc.

but touch? knowing when to gun a ball and when to float it or take a little speed off the ball?

I honestly don't know if that is something that can be taught. it's such a basic concept that HS QB's can understand it. sure, it can be refined or reinforced.

but if a QB does not understand that you throw a 20-yard out route differently than a 6-yard swing pass, then I don't know where you go from there?

and there were plenty of times this year when it simply appeared that AK did not grasp that concept. this isn't baseball where a pitcher can get by throwing one pitch. a FB QB has to be able to throw a variety of passes.
 

Tech Machine said:
I think coach was taken aback by the poor qb play as well. His comments about a UMn qb getting drafted preseason showed he was as sold as anyone. He had to have looked decent in practice, maybe a game pressure thing. I think it was a mental deal.
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Yup. He has the physical tools. But the game is too fast for him. At least right now. He is overwhelmed and he because physically worse after being overwhelmed mentally

And it’s pretty funny because the same people complaining about how simplistic and vanilla our offense is also might argue it was far too complicated for AK and confused him. 😂 both of those can’t be true at the same time.
 

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