Is AKs play a concern?

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roadrunner said:
OK, you don't like the Ewers comparison. How about small college transfer Shedeur Sanders comparison...
GP- 2, COMP PCT- 77%, YDS- 903, TD- 6, INT- 0
Can we all just agree AK is underperforming?
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No. We can agree you had ridiculous expectations of a redshirt sophomore who has played all of 4 games though so there is that.
 


roadrunner said:
OK, you don't like the Ewers comparison. How about small college transfer Shedeur Sanders comparison...
GP- 2, COMP PCT- 77%, YDS- 903, TD- 6, INT- 0
Can we all just agree AK is underperforming?
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The only reason Sanders went to a small college was his dad was a coach there. He always was a P5 QB all the way.
 

I am simply pointing out that AKs stat line looks suspiciously like last season's. And he's not a fresh-armed recruit anymore.
 

roadrunner said:
I am simply pointing out that AKs stat line looks suspiciously like last season's. And he's not a fresh-armed recruit anymore.
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So far he's played like an average Big Ten QB, like Leidner was. It's early though and our OC is new. Let's see how the season plays out. Both QB and OC can improve.
 


Pompous Elitist said:
He’s still in the honeymoon period but count me among those that are concerned with the passing game. I’ll leave it to the experts here and elsewhere to dissect how much is AK versus receivers versus scheme versus protection versus opposing defensive prowess. My hot take is he has much better escapability versus any QB in recent history, fairly athletic, strong arm but maybe less than great accuracy and touch. By comparison Morgan could seemingly consistently drop balls in a barrel 25 yards downfield, not sure if AK with his janky delivery can do that and that might affect red zone efficiency.

If the problem is more the receivers, it’s hard to attract top tier receivers to a program that has historically shown they want to run on average 70+ percent of the time. Not enough balls to go around. Feedback loop ensues. What’s the story on Elijah Spencer? I haven’t been paying attention, sorry.

This defense is pretty good, especially the line. Our place kicker may be elite. Wenger’s special teams in year 7 might not be a liability. That will obviously help win games while the O sorts itself out.
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I think what you are seeing is what we should have all expected to see, a lot of up and down. New coordinators, different offensive line, different runningback, different QB...I mean anyone looking at the situation with any sort of analytical bend would have said the team will likely struggle to get a rhythm early in the year.

If by the end of the year we can't say there is noticeable improvement then we should worry but otherwise I think some people are way overreacting to the process. How many games has Athan played in his career? Very few players become great over one offseason.
 

Word said:
He's young and has lots of time to improve but statistically so far he's actually pretty similar to Leidner. But I'm one of the few Leidner fans so that isn't meant as a rip.
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Mitch was a load running downhill. Durable too.
 

Pompous Elitist said:
He’s still in the honeymoon period but count me among those that are concerned with the passing game. I’ll leave it to the experts here and elsewhere to dissect how much is AK versus receivers versus scheme versus protection versus opposing defensive prowess. My hot take is he has much better escapability versus any QB in recent history, fairly athletic, strong arm but maybe less than great accuracy and touch. By comparison Morgan could seemingly consistently drop balls in a barrel 25 yards downfield, not sure if AK with his janky delivery can do that and that might affect red zone efficiency.

If the problem is more the receivers, it’s hard to attract top tier receivers to a program that has historically shown they want to run on average 70+ percent of the time. Not enough balls to go around. Feedback loop ensues. What’s the story on Elijah Spencer? I haven’t been paying attention, sorry.

This defense is pretty good, especially the line. Our place kicker may be elite. Wenger’s special teams in year 7 might not be a liability. That will obviously help win games while the O sorts itself out.
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Yeah, the offensive plan for the first two games was much closer to more of the same... conservative, pound the rock, TOP. Defense has been very good. Couple deep throw coverage mistakes but very good overall.

Fleck has indicated they would open up the passing game because of AK's abilities, but nothing I have seen so far indicates it has been opened up.

You mentioning honeymoon made me think of Honeymoon Suite...
 

roadrunner said:
I am simply pointing out that AKs stat line looks suspiciously like last season's. And he's not a fresh-armed recruit anymore.
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What did you think his stat line was going to look like? Did you think he was going to put up Madden Style numbers? Do you know what team you watch every week?

To me it sounds like you created a vision in your mind of what he would be (after what a half dozen games total) and since he isn't living up to that you have a problem with it. Are you actually Dan Barriero because if not you should stop stealing his bit ;)
 



Dave H said:
I think what you are seeing is what we should have all expected to see, a lot of up and down. New coordinators, different offensive line, different runningback, different QB...I mean anyone looking at the situation with any sort of analytical bend would have said the team will likely struggle to get a rhythm early in the year.

If by the end of the year we can't say there is noticeable improvement then we should worry but otherwise I think some people are way overreacting to the process. How many games has Athan played in his career? Very few players become great over one offseason.
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Agree, way too soon for definitive judgements. Young and inexperienced player. Talented.
 

Word said:
So far he's played like an average Big Ten QB, like Leidner was. It's early though and our OC is new. Let's see how the season plays out. Both QB and OC can improve.
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I liked Leidner too, the only issue was he was he plateaued. What I always loved was he played at 110% of ability...he just didn't have the talent level of other QBs. He was all guts and left every ounce of it on the field and always deserves respect.

Athan is young and is going to have rough games...but if he puts I the effort Leidner did the Gophs will win a lot of friggin games...and people will still whine it isn't good enough.
 

Dave H said:
What did you think his stat line was going to look like? Did you think he was going to put up Madden Style numbers? Do you know what team you watch every week?

To me it sounds like you created a vision in your mind of what he would be (after what a half dozen games total) and since he isn't living up to that you have a problem with it. Are you actually Dan Barriero because if not you should stop stealing his bit ;)
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you mean this isn't NCAA Footballs Road to the Heisman where you put up 350yards and 5TDs every game?
 

Dave H said:
I liked Leidner too, the only issue was he was he plateaued. What I always loved was he played at 110% of ability...he just didn't have the talent level of other QBs. He was all guts and left every ounce of it on the field and always deserves respect.

Athan is young and is going to have rough games...but if he puts I the effort Leidner did the Gophs will win a lot of friggin games...and people will still whine it isn't good enough.
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Yep. The other issue with Leidner was since they never developed a decent back-up QB, he had to take far too many snaps and ended-up having to play hurt way too often.
 



His stat line vs Wisconsin last year looked pretty damn good to me. Penn State was an unfortunate circumstance.
 

ATTCOMPCOMP-%INTTDYDSYDS/ATTTD/ 100 ATTINT/100 ATTTD RUSHNCAA Pass Rtng
KALIAKMANIS1709455.29%641,2597.42.43.52118.2
LEIDNER102958056.37%32367,2877.13.53.133121.2

Some comparative stats. Extremely similar to Leidner with Leidner maybe a slight edge in more categories. AK with lots of time to improve though. Mitch's book is written and AK's is still being written.
 
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RememberMurray said:
I'm excited about Kaliakmanis' career at Minnesota. He's going to be a great one, I believe.

My only concern is his apparent love for using a Mahomes-style sidearm delivery, dropping his arm down when it isn't necessary or even desirable.
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See Quinn Ewers of Texas
 

I would love to see some WR’s get better separation. AK will be fine and a stout running game will help tremendously. The game against NCU is going to give us a preview of what is to come.
 


No worries about kaliakmanis. The receivers besides Jackson are not impressing. Now that we are showing a running game, I think the passing game improves.
 


roadrunner said:
I am simply pointing out that AKs stat line looks suspiciously like last season's. And he's not a fresh-armed recruit anymore.
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Fleck said, like several of us commented, that the focus for the EMU game was to run the ball. The offensive gameplan for these two games was conservative, not like the wisconsin game or the start of the bowl game.
 

PMWinSTP said:
Fleck said, like several of us commented, that the focus for the EMU game was to run the ball. The offensive gameplan for these two games was conservative, not like the wisconsin game or the start of the bowl game.
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True. We saw many times with Morgan that it's hard for the QB to get in a groove when you're running all the time.
 

roadrunner said:
Watch the Texas-Alabama highlights of the anticipation, touch, and deep throws of Quinn Ewers. That is what a college QB should look like.
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So he should be an NFL QB...🙄
Dave H said:
I liked Leidner too, the only issue was he was he plateaued. What I always loved was he played at 110% of ability...he just didn't have the talent level of other QBs. He was all guts and left every ounce of it on the field and always deserves respect.

Athan is young and is going to have rough games...but if he puts I the effort Leidner did the Gophs will win a lot of friggin games...and people will still whine it isn't good enough.
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AK has all the physical tools, he has no ceiling, that's what's so exciting about him.
 

roadrunner said:
Watch the Texas-Alabama highlights of the anticipation, touch, and deep throws of Quinn Ewers. That is what a college QB should look like.
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You do realize how highly rated Ewers was don’t you? Not exactly your average run of the mill college qb.
 

Panthadad2 said:
That side arm got him at least one completion yesterday that probably would have been batted down overhand. It can work. He doesn't do it every throw.
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It sure looks to me he does it every throw. They even showed him warming up on the sidelines and he was slinging it from that low arm slot
 


What do the first 2 games of 2019 look like for Morgan? What story do they tell? Does it match the amazing season he had that year?
 

Bdrizzle said:
It sure looks to me he does it every throw. They even showed him warming up on the sidelines and he was slinging it from that low arm slot
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Yup.
Both games, too. Arm strength is still there though.

I'm mildly dusappointed so far in Kaliakmanis. I was hoping an offseason of work would improve timing, accuracy and decision making
So far i havent seen it.

However, there is plenty of time for that, and meantime, there is still a ton of natural talent there. And it's not like he's been bad. Decent play and some flashes of better.

It's just not been as good as I was hoping. To get into another level of success, you need more from your QB than "decent."
 

Taji34 said:
What do the first 2 games of 2019 look like for Morgan? What story do they tell? Does it match the amazing season he had that year?
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Morgan 2019
game 1 (vs SDSU): 72% completions (13/18), 176 yards, 1TD, 1 INT
game 2 (vs Fresno): 70% (16/23), 234 yards, 2TD, 0INT, 1 rushing TD

So quite a bit better than AK. And mirrors the season he had.
 

HoustonTXGopher said:
I would love to see some WR’s get better separation. AK will be fine and a stout running game will help tremendously. The game against NCU is going to give us a preview of what is to come.
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You hit the nail on the head with that one. We get little separation. When we go deep there is generally nothing there. There is no separation.

BSF is good if he has a head start when catching the ball. I think he kind of lumbers.

I wish we could some better talent at wide receiver. Everything is generally tight windows and fairly tight coverage.

A 100% Autman Bell would sure help, but I'm not sure if we'll see that.
 

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