Incoming Gophers QB Athan Kaliakmanis wins Gatorade Player of Year in Illinois

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per Greder:

“Athan is, by far, one of the most talented players I’ve ever coached against,” said Lakes Community High head coach Jordan Eder said in a statement. “He’s a tremendous athlete and competitor who can make every throw on the field, whether he’s set, on the run, throwing across his body — it never seems to matter, he always gets the ball where it needs to go. If he has any weaknesses, we haven’t been able to find them.”

www.twincities.com

Incoming Gophers QB Athan Kaliakmanis wins Gatorade Player of Year in Illinois

Incoming Gophers quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis was named Gatorade Football Player of the Year in Illinois on Thursday. The prestigious award goes to the player in each state who demonstrates athlet…
www.twincities.com www.twincities.com

Go Gophers!!
 



Hopefully after the whole Philip Nelson debacle, where fans were anointing him as the greatest QB in Gopher football history before he even stepped on campus, we have learned not to go overboard with expectations for a new player.

That said, everything about this kid screams potential superstar. Here's hoping that is how it plays out once he gets to campus. The great thing is that there isn't going to be the pressure on him to be the guy right from day one since we have great experience and leadership at the QB position.
 

MNVCGUY said:
Hopefully after the whole Philip Nelson debacle, where fans were anointing him as the greatest QB in Gopher football history before he even stepped on campus, we have learned not to go overboard with expectations for a new player.

That said, everything about this kid screams potential superstar. Here's hoping that is how it plays out once he gets to campus. The great thing is that there isn't going to be the pressure on him to be the guy right from day one since we have great experience and leadership at the QB position.
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And I would think that other recruits looking at the potential of this kid would love to be a part of that offensive line or be a receiver hauling in those precise, perfect spiraling passes! Recruitment is heading sky high! Hang on!
 




MNVCGUY said:
Hopefully after the whole Philip Nelson debacle, where fans were anointing him as the greatest QB in Gopher football history before he even stepped on campus, we have learned not to go overboard with expectations for a new player.

That said, everything about this kid screams potential superstar. Here's hoping that is how it plays out once he gets to campus. The great thing is that there isn't going to be the pressure on him to be the guy right from day one since we have great experience and leadership at the QB position.
Click to expand...

Do you mean from a purely statistical perspective or just behavior. Because Philip did progress from his 1st year to 2nd.

On October 20, 2012, Nelson's redshirt was pulled after struggling starter MarQueis Gray[9] was injured the week before. Nelson's first game of his collegiate career came against the Wisconsin Badgers.[10] The Gophers lost the game but Nelson passed for two touchdowns and was also the Gophers' leading rusher in the game. Nelson started the final seven games as a true freshman at Minnesota going 2–5 and the Gophers were invited to a bowl game for the first time since 2009. They lost in the Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas to Texas Tech 34–31 on December 28, 2012.[11]

In Nelson's sophomore season, he endured peaks and valleys as the starting quarterback. He played in 12 games and led the Gophers to a 4–0 record at the beginning of the season. A hamstring injury against Iowa hampered Nelson's ability to be effective against the Hawkeyes. The Gophers lost 23–7.[12] The next week against Michigan, back up quarterback Mitch Leidner took most of the reps but the Gophers were dismantled 42–13. Now on a losing streak and with ailing coach Jerry Kill watching from a private box, the Gophers hoped to get back on track against Northwestern. Leidner was replaced by a healthy Nelson in the first half of that game and the Gophers hung on for a 20–17 victory.[13] Nelson would start the next four games and lead the Gophers to three signature victories over No. 24 ranked Nebraska,[14] Indiana, and Penn State. The last two games of the season saw Nelson and Leidner split snaps as the team lost to Michigan State and then Syracuse in the Texas Bowl on December 28, 2013
 

Maybe he can be the first player to win a high school and college football player of the year award in the same calendar year?
 



SanDiegoGopherFan said:
Do you mean from a purely statistical perspective or just behavior. Because Philip did progress from his 1st year to 2nd.

On October 20, 2012, Nelson's redshirt was pulled after struggling starter MarQueis Gray[9] was injured the week before. Nelson's first game of his collegiate career came against the Wisconsin Badgers.[10] The Gophers lost the game but Nelson passed for two touchdowns and was also the Gophers' leading rusher in the game. Nelson started the final seven games as a true freshman at Minnesota going 2–5 and the Gophers were invited to a bowl game for the first time since 2009. They lost in the Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas to Texas Tech 34–31 on December 28, 2012.[11]

In Nelson's sophomore season, he endured peaks and valleys as the starting quarterback. He played in 12 games and led the Gophers to a 4–0 record at the beginning of the season. A hamstring injury against Iowa hampered Nelson's ability to be effective against the Hawkeyes. The Gophers lost 23–7.[12] The next week against Michigan, back up quarterback Mitch Leidner took most of the reps but the Gophers were dismantled 42–13. Now on a losing streak and with ailing coach Jerry Kill watching from a private box, the Gophers hoped to get back on track against Northwestern. Leidner was replaced by a healthy Nelson in the first half of that game and the Gophers hung on for a 20–17 victory.[13] Nelson would start the next four games and lead the Gophers to three signature victories over No. 24 ranked Nebraska,[14] Indiana, and Penn State. The last two games of the season saw Nelson and Leidner split snaps as the team lost to Michigan State and then Syracuse in the Texas Bowl on December 28, 2013
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I'll forever wonder about the QBs that toiled under Kill.

They weren't world beaters for sure ... but I also am not sure they had a a different system they might have been noticeably better / had more chances.
 

A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
I'll forever wonder about the QBs that toiled under Kill.

They weren't world beaters for sure ... but I also am not sure they had a a different system they might have been noticeably better / had more chances.
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It's worth noting that Nelson and Streveler had success after leaving while Leidner was, well, Leidner.
 

I haven’t been this excited about a QB prospect since M Gray.

hopefully he doesn’t have 3 different OCs and 3 different head Coaches and he actually is coached up now coached down. (This is an accusation of mishandling the QB position by both Brewster and Kill)
 

Some guy said:
I haven’t been this excited about a QB prospect since M Gray.

hopefully he doesn’t have 3 different OCs and 3 different head Coaches and he actually is coached up now coached down. (This is an accusation of mishandling the QB position by both Brewster and Kill)
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Fleck has signed a QB every year that I’ve been excited about.
 




Nelson for some reason wanted to be anointed number 1 quarterback without earning it. Nelson more than likely would have been the number 1 quarterback the season he left. I can't imagine why Kill would say that Nelson would be number 1 without showing it on the field.

Athan I would think understands you need to prove it that you're number 1. Looking forward to having Athan on board with us. I agree with btowngopher that I too have been pleased with the QB's that have come on board with us while Fleck has been at the helm.
 

#2Gopher said:
Nelson for some reason wanted to be anointed number 1 quarterback without earning it. Nelson more than likely would have been the number 1 quarterback the season he left. I can't imagine why Kill would say that Nelson would be number 1 without showing it on the field.

Athan I would think understands you need to prove it that you're number 1. Looking forward to having Athan on board with us. I agree with btowngopher that I too have been pleased with the QB's that have come on board with us while Fleck has been at the helm.
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Yeah the Nelson thing when he left, like yeah he was around 50% completions?

I like to have my cake and eat it too with Nelson.

He hadn't earned a solid spot in the top job. He hadn't done much to make the team into a pass first type team.

Having said that, wouldn't blame him if he wanted to go elsewhere to a team less 'RUTM by default' too and see what he can do.
 


Whoa, Nellie.......

Let's be careful about piling too many expectations on one player.

because here's how that can go:

"The Gophers are going to be great with this kid at QB!"

but - if the Gophers are not great, then some fans and media members will immediately pivot to

"he wasn't as good as advertised!"

If AK turns out to be the greatest thing since sliced bread, that's great for him and great for the program.

All I am saying is let's wait and see what he looks like when he gets a chance to play.

Morgan and Annexstad are both capable QB's with several years of experience in the Gophers' system. AK would have to be the phenom of all time to leapfrog them and be a starter this year.
So, barring significant injuries to TM and ZA, the earliest I expect to see AK in a game will be the fall of 2022.

cue Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.........."The Waiting is the Hardest Part...."
 


short ornery norwegian said:
Whoa, Nellie.......

Let's be careful about piling too many expectations on one player.

because here's how that can go:

"The Gophers are going to be great with this kid at QB!"

but - if the Gophers are not great, then some fans and media members will immediately pivot to

"he wasn't as good as advertised!"

If AK turns out to be the greatest thing since sliced bread, that's great for him and great for the program.

All I am saying is let's wait and see what he looks like when he gets a chance to play.

Morgan and Annexstad are both capable QB's with several years of experience in the Gophers' system. AK would have to be the phenom of all time to leapfrog them and be a starter this year.
So, barring significant injuries to TM and ZA, the earliest I expect to see AK in a game will be the fall of 2022.

cue Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.........."The Waiting is the Hardest Part...."
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Counterpoint:

ppzTgGZ.gif



Music for the Gif:


 
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There are so many Fleck recruits I have been and am excited about… Andries, Mo, Morgan… Annexstad, Dunlop, and Faalele all coming… Bateman… Jackson, Ky, Jah, Clark, Cheney, Carter… Ortiz, Irving, Eastern, Schuster… Bixby… And a good number more - But I’ve got to say Athan and Bateman are the two that really elevate the National profile and make me think that Fleck could actually win the CFP at Minnesota.
 

SanDiegoGopherFan said:
Do you mean from a purely statistical perspective or just behavior. Because Philip did progress from his 1st year to 2nd.

On October 20, 2012, Nelson's redshirt was pulled after struggling starter MarQueis Gray[9] was injured the week before. Nelson's first game of his collegiate career came against the Wisconsin Badgers.[10] The Gophers lost the game but Nelson passed for two touchdowns and was also the Gophers' leading rusher in the game. Nelson started the final seven games as a true freshman at Minnesota going 2–5 and the Gophers were invited to a bowl game for the first time since 2009. They lost in the Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas to Texas Tech 34–31 on December 28, 2012.[11]

In Nelson's sophomore season, he endured peaks and valleys as the starting quarterback. He played in 12 games and led the Gophers to a 4–0 record at the beginning of the season. A hamstring injury against Iowa hampered Nelson's ability to be effective against the Hawkeyes. The Gophers lost 23–7.[12] The next week against Michigan, back up quarterback Mitch Leidner took most of the reps but the Gophers were dismantled 42–13. Now on a losing streak and with ailing coach Jerry Kill watching from a private box, the Gophers hoped to get back on track against Northwestern. Leidner was replaced by a healthy Nelson in the first half of that game and the Gophers hung on for a 20–17 victory.[13] Nelson would start the next four games and lead the Gophers to three signature victories over No. 24 ranked Nebraska,[14] Indiana, and Penn State. The last two games of the season saw Nelson and Leidner split snaps as the team lost to Michigan State and then Syracuse in the Texas Bowl on December 28, 2013
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I was actually referring to the countless threads posted on here during his recruitment that had him pegged as the no doubt greatest QB ever to play at the University of Minnesota. There was an obsession about him unlike anything I can really recall on these boards even before he got here and took his first snap. There was almost zero chance he would be able to live up to the expectations that some had set for him.
 

MNVCGUY said:
Hopefully after the whole Philip Nelson debacle, where fans were anointing him as the greatest QB in Gopher football history before he even stepped on campus, we have learned not to go overboard with expectations for a new player.

That said, everything about this kid screams potential superstar. Here's hoping that is how it plays out once he gets to campus. The great thing is that there isn't going to be the pressure on him to be the guy right from day one since we have great experience and leadership at the QB position.
Click to expand...
Philip Nelson was never Gatorade Player of the Year for Illinois. Big difference.
 

MNVCGUY said:
I was actually referring to the countless threads posted on here during his recruitment that had him pegged as the no doubt greatest QB ever to play at the University of Minnesota. There was an obsession about him unlike anything I can really recall on these boards even before he got here and took his first snap. There was almost zero chance he would be able to live up to the expectations that some had set for him.
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Don't want to fall in trap badger fans did with their QB that only looked so so last year, Mertz

granted, only one year
 


#2Gopher said:
Nelson for some reason wanted to be anointed number 1 quarterback without earning it. Nelson more than likely would have been the number 1 quarterback the season he left. I can't imagine why Kill would say that Nelson would be number 1 without showing it on the field.

Athan I would think understands you need to prove it that you're number 1. Looking forward to having Athan on board with us. I agree with btowngopher that I too have been pleased with the QB's that have come on board with us while Fleck has been at the helm.
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Nelson got the NE win and believed he was better than shtballs Leidner. In the end, Nelson was right but karma is weird and bit both Jerry and Nelson.
 


PMWinSTP said:
Help me out with this...where did those two go and have success?
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Streveler starred at USD and has seen NFL playing time.

Nelson had a decent year at ECU and got some NFL looks. Started an AAF game I think. Calling him a success is a bit more of a stretch admittedly, but we certainly ended up with the worst QB of that trio.
 

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