Rutgers football gets quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis out of transfer portal
Five days after closing out its season with a Pinstripe Bowl victory over Miami, the Rutgers football team made an addition to its quarterback room.
Minnesota transfer Athan Kaliakmanis announced his decision to join the Scarlet Knights on X, formerly known as Twitter. Kaliakmanis will have two years of eligibility remaining.
The link between Kaliakmanis and Rutgers is his familiarity with offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca. Ciarrocca led the Golden Gophers' offense from 2017-2019 and again in 2022. Ciarrocca recruited Kaliakmanis out of high school as a four-star prospect from Antioch, Illinois.
The commitment also continues a trend of head coach Greg Schiano taking pieces from Minnesota. In addition to Ciarrocca and Kaliakmanis, defensive coordinator Joe Harasymiak was hired by Schiano after spending two seasons as one of the Golden Gophers’ defensive coordinators. Junior defensive back Flip Dixon and senior defensive lineman Mayan Ahanotu also joined the Knights in the transfer portal from the Gopher State.
Before he became Minnesota’s full-time starter in 2023, Kaliakmanis made spot starts in 2022 after former quarterback Tanner Morgan struggled with injuries. He played in 11 games with five starts under Ciarrocca’s leadership, throwing for 946 yards with three touchdowns, four interceptions and a 3-2 record when starting.
After taking over the reins of the Golden Gophers’ offense in 2023, he started all 12 regular season games, leading Minnesota to a Quick Lane Bowl appearance. He threw for 1,838 yards with 14 touchdowns and nine interceptions, completing 53 percent of his passes.
Though he lost his final four starts of the season, he played well down the stretch, throwing for seven touchdowns in the month of November. His finest performance came in a loss to Purdue, where he threw for a season-high 292 yards and three touchdowns.
With the addition of Kaliakmanis, Schiano and Ciarrocca will likely have a quarterback competition before the 2024 season. While junior quarterback Gavin Wimsatt helped lead Rutgers to its first bowl appearance in nine years, he struggled with consistency and accuracy. Wimsatt’s 47.8 completion percentage was the lowest among all qualifying Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) quarterbacks. Kaliakmanis’ 53.1 percent mark was not much better, as it was the fifth-lowest among FBS signal callers.
The two also have different strengths. Wimsatt is a much better runner than Kaliakmanis, while the latter is a better pocket passer. Wimsatt’s 497 rushing yards ranked second on the team. Kaliakmanis did run the ball 74 times last season but only gained 94 yards with two touchdowns.
Kaliakmanis will work with a revamped room of weapons, as the Knights return several offensive contributors, including leading receiver Christian Dremel and Big Ten rushing leader Kyle Monangai. They also bring in some additions in the passing game, such as Monmouth transfer wide receiver Dymere Miller and four-star wide receiver KJ Duff.
If Kaliakmanis wins the starting job over Wimsatt, he brings familiarity and experience with Ciarrocca and could help Rutgers' offense improve past the strides it made in 2023. Even if Wimsatt does keep his starting job, Kaliakmanis will bring competition to the position that could bring out the best in both players.
For more updates on the Rutgers football team, follow @TargumSports on X.
To view more of Alec Crouthamel's work, follow @aleccr12 on X.
