Tag: Athan Kalaikmanis

Breaking news – Athan Kaliakmanis is the Rutgers football starter, Gavin Wimsatt to transfer

Athan Kaliakmanis is in as the starting quarterback at Rutgers, Gavin Wimsatt is in the transfer portal.

Athan Kaliakmanis will be the Rutgers football starting quarterback heading into Rutgers fall camp, a source can confirm to Rutgers Wire. And Gavin Wimsatt, the incumbent starter, is set to enter the transfer portal.

The news of Kaliakmanis being named the Rutgers starter and Wimsatt hitting the portal was originally broken by ESPN’s Pete Thamel.

Kaliakmanis arrived to Rutgers in January out of the transfer, fresh off a solid sophomore season at Minnesota. He appears to be the clear-cut winner from the spring season, looking solid in the Scarlet-White scrimmage.

His relationship with offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca, who recruited him to Minnesota, clearly paid dividends here. Kaliakmanis had a clear control of the offense during the spring game and looked comfortable in the pocket.

The move by head coach Greg Schiano to name Kaliakmanis the starter following the conclusion of spring camp allows Wimsatt to hit the transfer portal at an opportune time.

 

A former four-star quarterback recruit out of Kentucky, Wimsatt joined Rutgers in early September of 2021 following early graduation from high school. He won the starting job outright in 2023 and showed progress in his development in leading Rutgers to a Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl win over Miami.

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Last year at Minnesota, Kaliakmanis completed 53.1 percent of his passes for 1,831 yards with 14 touchdowns and nine interceptions. 

A quarterback competition for Rutgers football? It is a matter of progress says Greg Schiano

Rutgers football has a quarterback competition and signs of progress.

There is a quarterback competition for Rutgers football, with Saturday’s scrimmage the latest chance for Gavin Wimsatt and Athan Kaliakmanis both showing flashes.

The incumbent starter, Wimsatt took a developmental step forward last year, his first season as the starting quarterback at Rutgers. In a season where he led Rutgers to an impressive bowl victory over Miami, Wimsatt still has plenty of room to improve and take a step forward.

He threw for a career-high yards last year and also marked an improvement in completion percentage. Wimsatt also put up some staggering numbers running the ball and threw more touchdowns than interceptions – all very strong signs of development.

But the completion percentage is still low by Power Five standards and has to improve if Rutgers is going to continue its rebuild.

With the arrival of Kalaiakmanis in the transfer portal from Minnesota, Rutgers now has two quarterbacks with significant Big Ten experience. And unlike last year, there is a true quarterback competition for the Scarlet Knights.

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Saturday’s scrimmage was what head coach [autotag]Greg Schiano[/autotag] saw as the next step in that process of not just evaluating the quarterbacks but also developing them. It is a process that Schiano says goes back further than just spring practice.

“I think it’s not only the spring, I think they’ve made progress from when we got back in January all the way through,” Schiano told reporters last Saturday in talking about the quarterbacks.

“I’m pleased with their progression. Still plenty to go. But as long as you keep taking those baby steps, a little bit every week. We’ll get there eventually.”

It wasn’t a flawless performance from either quarterback, but there is a real genuine competition between Wimsatt and Kaliakmanis.

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Despite transferring in from Minnesota, Kaliakmanis knows this system well. Two years ago as a freshman at Minnesota, his offensive coordinator was Kirk Ciarrocca.

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And it was Ciarrocca, now in his second year at Rutgers, who recruited Kaliakmanis to transfer within the Big Ten this offseason.

“The quarterbacks – I think they all did good stuff. We had some good completions, made some mistakes,” Schiano said.

“Had two interceptions today. Look, here’s some stuff to learn from the tape. Plenty of plays to learn from and watch. Everybody can watch themselves which is important. I think they did well, it’s starting to take shape”

This past season showed some of the potential that Kaliakmanis brings to Rutgers. As a sophomore at Minnesota, Kaliakmanis completed 53.1 percent of his passes for 1,831 yards with 14 touchdowns and nine interceptions.

Saturday’s scrimmage was the second of spring practice for Rutgers. The final spring scrimmage is the Scarlet-White Game this Saturday.

What is the state of the Rutgers football quarterback competition? Greg Schiano sees ‘a healthy competition’

Rutgers football is having a good, healthy quarterback competition this spring.

For the first time since Rutgers entered the Big Ten in 2014, there is a quarterback competition that features two experienced players who each have deep Power Five starting experience.

The offseason addition of Athan Kalaikmanis, who started every regular season game for Minnesota last year, certainly changes the look and feel of the Rutgers quarterback room. With the incumbent starter, Gavin Wimsatt, back from a year where Rutgers won a bowl game, there is a level of depth and competition that hasn’t existed around this program in quite some time.

Of the four scholarship quarterbacks on the roster, Wimsatt and [autotag]Ajanni Sheppard[/autotag] spent last season at Rutgers and with offensive coordinator [autotag]Kirk Ciarrocca[/autotag].

“For two of them, it’s their second year in the system now so you would expect a better understanding from a whole offseason of studying yourself,” head coach Greg Schiano told reporters on Saturday.

“But yeah, there’s a healthy competition in the room. I think it’s deeper so we’ll just let it play out.”

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Rutgers has had inconsistent quarterback play for much of the last decade and the hope this offseason is that Kalaikmanis or Wimsatt will step up and manage the offense effectively.

While Sheppard is promising and A.J. Surace, a three-star quarterback who arrived on campus in January, the quarterback competition is likely to favor the most experienced players.

Wimsatt and Kalaikmanis both have significant starting experience in the Big Ten and that is likely what is needed with this veteran roster.

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“Well, Athan I saw do things in Big Ten games, so I’m not really surprised – I think he’s doing well, but it’s not a surprise,” Schiano said.

“AJ only saw (him) play in high school and yes, he’s pleasantly surprised me. I mean, AJ is a really fine young quarterback prospect. Very excited about him. So like I said, I’m encouraged. Starting up there with Gavin and going all the way through Ajani who was here – it’s a good room, and I think they got a good chemistry in there to coach Ciarrocca does a really good job of kind of blending them together. And yes, there’s a competition. But they you watch them they help each other all the time. I mean, that’s what that’s what family is about.”

Rutgers football OC Kirk Ciarrocca raves about Athan Kalaikmanis’ Big Ten experience: ‘There’s no substitute for experience’

The addition of Athan Kalaikmanis is an intriguing offseason story for Rutgers football.

PISCATAWAY, N.J. — For Kirk Ciarrocca, familiarity bred a desire to be reunited with Athan Kalaikmanis. So when the quarterback entered the transfer portal after two years at Minnesota, Ciarrocca was ready.

The arrival of Kaliakmanis this offseason is a net positive for Rutgers, given his experience starting in the Big Ten. He is also experienced in playing for Ciarrocca, a point that factored significantly into his portal recruitment.

With incumbent starter Gavin Wimsatt already in the fold, Rutgers now has two quarterbacks boasting significant Big Ten starting experience.

Prior to arriving at Rutgers last year, Ciarrocca was the offensive coordinator at Minnesota. He recruited Kaliakmanis to the program and oversaw him getting playing time for Minnesota as a freshman.

“I think that was very attractive to us. You know, the fact that he knew the system. He knew me,” Ciarrocca said on Thursday following practice.

“I knew what his work ethic was like, I knew what type of person he was. I knew that he would fit into our culture. So I was really excited about the opportunity to bring him here because I know it strengthens our roster, and it was going to make the position better.”

Ciarrocca and Kaliakmanis had fostered a strong relationship in their one year together at Minnesota, and it was enough to pull the quarterback to New Jersey.

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In now his second year at Rutgers, Ciarrocca worked a borderline miracle with the offense, turning around a unit that was among the worst in the Big Ten for much of the past decade and making them respectable. The one area that struggled with some inconsistency was the passing game and that is where Kaliakmanis enters the competition with some strength to his game.

But the building block for this offseason is going to be that Kaliakmanis has a familiarity with not just Ciarrocca the coach but also the man. It played a major role in the player and coach reuniting this offseason.

“I’m just very fortunate that they were interested when I was in the portal,” Kaliakmanis said on Tuesday.

“You know, the portal can be a scary place. I was very fortunate that a lot of schools (were) interested but very thankful that coach Ciarrocca and coach Schiano (head coach Greg Schiano) were interested in me.

“But yeah, I mean, our relationship is very, very tight. It was at Minnesota, and just picking his brain – he’s I think he’s a very, very smart coordinator. He’s very intelligent, and I trust him.”

He certainly adds a new dimension to the quarterback room. Last season for Minnesota, Kaliakmanis completed 53.1 percent of his passes for 1,831 yards with 14 touchdowns and nine interceptions.

Last summer, Wimsatt was named the starting quarterback during Big Ten Media Days. The decision by head coach Greg Schiano ended any talk of a quarterback competition going into training camp.

Wimsatt started all 13 games for Rutgers last year, leading the team to a win over Miami in the Pinstripe Bowl. He made gains over the season before as he completed 47.8 percent of his passes. He threw for 1,735 yards with nine touchdowns and eight interceptions. In addition, he also ran for 497 yards and 11 touchdowns.

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It should be a quarterback competition that stretches into the summer, but at the very least, the addition of Kalaikmanis gives the Scarlet Knights some much-needed depth at a vital position.

“He has a big-time experience, has been Big Ten starter. I don’t know. I think he started 16 or 17 games and the Big Ten,” Ciarrocca said.

“So there’s no substitute for experience obviously has some familiarity with the system and familiarity with me. So I think that helps them a little bit. But the biggest thing is it just it brings competition to the position. Maybe a little bit more stability there when you’re adding another quality guy out of position, adds depth.”