Tag: Gavin Wimsatt

Fans should expect to see Gavin Wimsatt get some playing time

Gavin Wimsatt will likely see some playing time when Kentucky football takes on Georgia.

Gavin Wimsatt is a 6-foot-2, 225-pound junior quarterback from Owensboro, Kentucky who played his first three seasons at Rutgers.

Wimsatt had a breakout season as a junior at Rutgers in 2023, passing for 1,735 yards and nine touchdowns versus eight interceptions in 13 starts at quarterback. He also rushed for 497 yards and 11 scores on 131 carries.

Related: Staff predictions for Kentucky versus Georgia

The new Wildcat played 25 games and started 19 of those in three seasons with the Scarlet Knights, completing 212 of 455 passes for 2,537 yards and 14 touchdowns against 17 interceptions. He has rushed for 628 yards and 11 scores on 180 carries as a true dual-threat quarterback.  

Wimsatt appeared versus South Carolina last week at home in a 31-6 loss. Wimsatt ran the ball six times for 44 yards and was 3 of 7 passing with 14 yards and 1 interceptions.

“Always fun just to go play football. “Definitely disappointing in how it came in,” Wimstatt said of his Kentucky debut to 247Sports “It’s always good to play football just to go out there and have fun.”

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Greg Schiano says Athan Kaliakmanis won the Rutgers starting job due ‘to his accuracy’

Greg Schiano on why Athan Kaliakmanis won the starting job at Rutgers.

BEDMINSTER, NEW JERSEY — The decision to name [autotag]Athan Kaliakmanis[/autotag] the starting quarterback following spring football was born from what Rutgers football head coach [autotag]Greg Schiano[/autotag] said was a tough competition.

But it was a competition where Schiano said that Kaliakmanis showed differentiation in his accuracy. It was this attribute that saw the transfer from Minnesota win the starting job at Rutgers outright.

In winning the starting job, Kaliakmanis supplanted incumbent starter Gavin Wimsatt. A former four-star quarterback recruit, Wimsatt led Rutgers to a 7-6 record and a bowl win for the first time since 2014.

He completed 47.1 percent of his passes, throwing for 1,735 yards with nine touchdowns and eight interceptions.

The Rutgers head coach spoke prior to the start of his ‘Greg Schiano Charity Golf Classic.’

“Athan won the job this spring. And it was very, very good competition. I was really pleased because the quarterback room supported each other throughout the entire competition and that’s what I would expect,” Schiano said on Monday.

“But you know what – when you get into those things, it can get dicey. These guys…they were great together, they supported each other. Athan clearly won the job.

“So that’s why we announced when we did—also wanted to make sure that whoever didn’t win it, in this day of modern college football with the transfer portal that they had a chance if they wanted to look (around). I think that’s the wave of the future. And I think if if your team knows that you’re definitely there to win and make sure they get their degree but you also want to try to help them individually in their pursuit.

“I was hopeful that Gavin might stick around but I understand why he left and wish him only but the best because he’s a special kid and a special family.”

Last season for Minnesota, Kaliakmanis completed 53.1 percent of his passes for 1,831 yards. He had 14 touchdowns and nine interceptions.

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When asked what separated Kaliamkanis from Wimsatt, the answer from Schiano was pretty clear.

“I think his accuracy, Schiano said. “I mean, it’s, it was pretty substantial the difference.”

Former Rutgers quarterback Gavin Wimsatt commits to Kentucky football

Quarterback Gavin Wimsatt will transfer to Kentucky football and coach Mark Stoops.

Kentucky football originally offered quarterback Gavin Wimsatt when he was still a high school recruit. He was an in-state product, and rated four stars, but wound up choosing Rutgers over the Wildcats, Louisville, and others.

Last year, for the Scarlet Knights, Wimsatt completed 47% of his passes for 1,735 yards and 9 touchdowns. He also threw 8 interceptions. As a runner, he was effective, gaining 497 yards for 11 scores.

Wimsatt entered the transfer portal early in May, and it didn’t take him long to choose to head back home to Kentucky. Coach Mark Stoops had this to say about the quarterback:

We are excited to add Gavin to our program. Game experience is extremely valuable at quarterback and this is a unique opportunity to add talent and experience to the room.

The Kentucky quarterback room has plenty of talent. Georgia Bulldogs transfer Brock Vandagriff leads the way and will be the starter, but four-star recruit Cutter Boley is also a potential high-level player. Wimsatt’s experience being added to the room can only help.

Former Rutgers QB Gavin Wimsatt commits to Kentucky in the transfer portal

Gavin Wimsatt is heading from Rutgers to Kentucky.

Former Rutgers football quarterback Gavin Wimsatt has committed to Kentucky, ending his brief entry into the transfer portal.

Wimsatt, who visited Kentucky over the weekend, is a former r four-star quarterback who joined Rutgers in September of 2021. Originally from Owensboro, Kentucky, Wimsatt entered the transfer portal last week after [autotag]Athan Kaliakmanis[/autotag] was named the starter at Rutgers.

Last year, he was the starting quarterback as Rutgers finished the season 7-6 (3-6 Big Ten) and won the Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl over Miami. In that game, Wimsatt was 7-of-15 for 84 yards and also added two rushing touchdowns.

On the season, Wimsatt showed some moderate growth from 2022. He threw for 1,735 yards, completing 47.8 percent of his passes. His nine touchdowns and eight interceptions marked the first time in his collegiate career he had more touchdowns than interceptions.

Wimsatt posted his commitment to Kentucky on social media on Tuesday afternoon:

 

Perhaps the biggest area of growth for Wimsatt last year was his athleticism.

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Last year he posted a career-high 497 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns

Former Kentucky football target Gavin Wimsatt enters transfer portal

Former Rutgers quarterback Gavin Wimsatt could be a Kentucky football target.

According to Pete Thamel, Rutgers quarterback Gavin Wimsatt has entered the transfer portal. A former 4-star recruit in the class of 2021, Wimsatt started 18 games for the Scarlet Knights during his three years at Rutgers.

The former Rutgers quarterback had some major ups and downs in his career with the Scarlet Knights, and struggled this past season. He finished the season with 1735 yards and nine touchdowns, but also threw eight interceptions. In addition, he also ran for 497 yards and 11 touchdowns last season. Wimsatt completed just 47.5% of his passes, which was among the lowest percentages in the nation.

Kentucky was a major player in Wimsatt’s recruitment in 2021, but he eventually chose Rutgers over Kentucky, Louisville, Michigan, Missouri, Ole Miss, Indiana and many more.

Fans could expect Kentucky to possibly reach out to Wimsatt for a backup role. He could provide experience for the future with Brock Vandagriff, Beau Allen and Cutter Boley in a deep, but inexperienced, QB room.

How does Athan Kaliakmanis (as the starting quarterback) change the Rutgers football offense?

Rutgers football quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis is the new starting quarterback, and Mike Teel believes the offense is likely to change.

With the naming of Athan Kaliakmanis as the starting quarterback, the Rutgers football offense is certainly set to change. And with that, former Rutgers quarterback Mike Teel believes that the change will be tailored to their new quarterback’s skillset.

Kaliakmanis, a multi-year starter in the Big Ten, is certainly not lacking for Power Five experience. And there was and is a belief around the Hale Center that he had a significantly better spring than any other quarterback on the Rutgers roster.

So the former Minnesota quarterback takes over an offense brimming with potential and will be protected by a veteran offensive line. All of this means that there is a chance that the Rutgers offense can take the next step in what will be their second season under offensive coordinator [autotag]Kirk Ciarrocca[/autotag].

And Kaliakmanis, who was recruited and coach by Ciarrocca to Minnesota, knows this system well.

This leads Teel, a legend of the Rutgers program, to believe that the offense with Kaliakmanis taking the snaps is likely to look different than the past two years under [autotag]Gavin Wimsatt[/autotag].

“I think you call plays, you draw ups plays and you scheme up plays as an offensive coordinator to benefit your personnel,” Teel told Rutgers Wire.

“Rutgers has the best running back in the Big Ten returning, Kyle Monangai He’s supposed to run the football right?  It’s always great when a quarterback can run the ball because it adds that extra number to the run game that the defense has to account for and I think there were times when Gavin did a great job of adding that extra dimension to the offense last year.

“But at the end of the day, I think if you can use the pass game, meaning the quick game, to supplement some of those quarterback runs whether it’s through RPOs or whether it’s through that three-step concept -the hitches, the slants, the quick outs…you have an off corner to the boundary throw…the quick hitch…right now I think you’ll see a lot more of those type plays to offset the quarterback run.”

Wimsatt entered the transfer portal on Wednesday.

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Teel is the all-time leading passer in Rutgers football history. He currently works as an analyst on Rutgers football broadcasts.

In the spring game, Kaliakmanis was more athletic than advertised, showing the ability to move around in the pocket and carry the ball downfield. But he is first and foremost a pocket quarterback who has a quick release as well as the ability to make plays down the field.

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That, Teel believes, is likely to be an asset in balancing this offense.

“So at the end of the day, if teams are going to stack the box, going to put nine guys, eight guys in the box – I think you have to make them pay,” Teel said.

“You can do that by throwing the ball and using the quick game which is what I think they will try to do as the season comes.”

 

Former Rutgers quarterback Mike Teel believes Greg Schiano did right by Gavin Wimsatt

Mike Teel talks about the quarterback competition at Rutgers.

Wednesday’s announcement of Athan Kaliakmanis as the starting quarterback for Rutgers football certainly surprised Mike Teel. The all-time leading passer in Rutgers football history, Teel was not expecting a decision to come so soon in the quarterback competition.

But at the end of the day, Teel said that the decision by Rutgers head coach [autotag]Greg Schiano[/autotag] to announce a starter now did right by not just his team but also Gavin Wimsatt.

Shortly after Kaliakmanis was named the starting quarterback, Wimsatt entered the transfer portal.

A multi-year starter at Rutgers, Wimsatt led Rutgers to a bowl win last season, something the program hadn’t done since 2014. The former four-star recruit took a big gamble when he joined Rutgers in 2021.

Wimsatt played through lots of pain during the 2022 season and always conducted himself with high character.

Teel, who played four years at Rutgers under Schiano, thinks that the head coach did right by his player.

“I was surprised with the timing. On the flip side, I think the timing of this is the most beneficial thing for all parties involved,” Teel told Rutgers Wire on Wednesday night.

“And it’s hard because when I was in school, it was so much less of a business on the player side. Right now, it is a business on the player side. And for Gavin, I think the fact that the coaching staff was able to make a decision and – unfortunately for Gavin it wasn’t going to be him. But it gives him the opportunity to get into the portal, to find another place to play and then find another place to make money.

“And I think coach Schiano did it the right way and I don’t know if there’s precedent on how it’s supposed to be done right now, but I think he did it the right way. It gives Gavin an opportunity to get in the portal. Hopefully, he gets to a team before training camp and has a chance to compete wherever ends up.”

The decision by Schiano to act in his player’s best interest, and not necessarily that of the team, is in stark contrast to some of the things taking place in Colorado this week with head coach Deion Sanders. Schiano very easily could have put up a facade of a quarterback competition through camp so that Wimsatt wouldn’t leave the team.

In this scenario, Wimsatt would have been boxed in due to the calendar and stayed with the program in the fall. It would have given Rutgers an experienced back-up quarterback but would have left WImsatt in a tough spot.

Last year, Wimsatt accounted for 20 total touchdowns and threw for 1,,735 yards.

The nod for Kaliakmanis is big for the team too.

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A transfer portal addition this offseason out of Minnesota, Kaliakmanis came to Rutgers because of the presence of offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca. Now in his second year at Rutgers, Ciarrocca had previously been at Minnesota.

It was there that he recruited and coached Kaliakmanis.

“For the team itself, I think it does answer any questions or any concerns that there might be,” Teel said.

“The decision was made. This is how we’re moving forward. And, you know, it’s a business decision that is in the best interests of the team and the offense, and that’s how they’re going to look at it. That’s how we’re going to move forward.”

The quarterback competition very easily could have dragged out until training camp but it was clear that Schiano and Ciarrocca saw something in Kaliakmanis that would make him their starter.

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In announcing the starter now, it affords Wimsatt the opportunity to enter the transfer portal now when there are more opportunities rather than in the summer when the choices would not be as ideal.

What Greg Schiano told the Big Ten Network on Tuesday about Rutgers football’s quarterbacks

Greg Schiano talked Rutgers football quarterback competition with the Big Ten Network.

There is change coming to Rutgers football, with Greg Schiano announcing Athan Kaliakmanis as the starting quarterback on Wednesday. Incumbent starter Gavin Wimsatt will enter the transfer portal, a source confirms.

Just a day prior to the news (which was broken by ESPN’s Pete Thamel on Wednesday morning), Rutgers head coach [autotag]Greg Schiano[/autotag] was asked about the state of his quarterback competition. Kaliakmanis and Wimsatt were engaged in a quarterback battle that appeared destined to drag out until the summer.

But on Wednesday, Kaliakmanis was named the starter heading into fall camp and Wimsatt, who has two years of eligibility left. Last season at Minnesota, Kaliakmanis completed 53.1 percent of his passes for 1,831 yards with 14 touchdowns and nine interceptions.

He had previously played for Rutgers offensive coordinator [autotag]Kirk Ciarrocca[/autotag], who three years prior had recruited him to Minnesota.

In speaking on Tuesday to the Big Ten Network, Schiano perhaps foreshadowed the coming change in the quarterback room during his interview with Anthony Herron.

“Well, I think it starts with coach Ciarrocca,” Schiano told the Big Ten Network during an interview on Tuesday.

“You know, coach Ciarrocca recruited him and worked with him at Minnesota so we knew exactly what Athan is and what he was going to be able to do. His brother Dino (Kalaiakmanis) came with him, which he had a good spring as well. So I’m excited.

“You know, I think our quarterback room is as strong as it’s ever been in all my years as the head coach here at Rutgers. And I know that it’s a very fluid thing when you talk about college personnel, right? Because there is a transfer portal there is NIL, there’s all those things that make it that way. So what you do is you literally take it day by day you have a plan, but you got to be ready to adjust. And I feel really good about Athan and I feel good about Gavin and I feel good about our other two quarterbacks as well. You know, they’re doing a good job. So we have some depth at the position. But you know, you don’t know how long that lasts all the time.”

Wimsatt is coming off a third season at Rutgers where he completed 47.8 percent of his passes for 1,735 yards with nine touchdowns and eight interceptions. He also ran for 11 touchdowns.

 

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. 

Greg Schiano talks quarterback competition with the Big Ten Network

Athan Kaliakmanis and Gavin Wimsatt are the center of Greg Schiano’s interview with the Big Ten Network.

Greg Schiano is pleased with the depth he finally has throughout his Rutgers football roster. And for the head coach, that includes having the deepest quarterback room he has had across his two tenures with the Scarlet Knights.

On Tuesday, Schiano talked on the Big Ten Network with Anthony Herron, where he fielded two questions about the status of the quarterback competition at Rutgers.

Incumbent starter Gavin Wimsatt is facing something he did not encounter last year and that is a true, open quarterback competition during fall camp. Wimsatt was named the starting quarterback last June.

He struggled at times in Big Ten play but was effective enough to guide Rutgers to a bowl game (and a bowl win over Miami).

But Rutgers still sought to deepen the position, bringing in Athan Kaliakmanis in the transfer portal. Recruited to Minnesota by current Rutgers offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca, Kalaiakmanis has significant Big Ten experience.

Last season as a sophomore, Kaliakmanis completed 53.1 percent of his passes for 1,831 yards with 14 touchdowns and nine interceptions. 

“Well, I think it starts with coach Ciarrocca,” Schiano told the Big Ten Network on Tuesday.

“You know, coach Ciarrocca recruited him and worked with him at Minnesota so we knew exactly what Athan is and what he was going to be able to do. His brother Dino (Kalaiakmanis) came with him, which he had a good spring as well. So I’m excited.

“You know, I think our quarterback room is as strong as it’s ever been in all my years as the head coach here at Rutgers. And I know that it’s a very fluid thing when you talk about college personnel, right? Because there is a transfer portal there is NIL, there’s all those things that make it that way. So what you do is you literally take it day by day you have a plan, but you got to be ready to adjust. And I feel really good about Athan and I feel good about Gavin and I feel good about our other two quarterbacks as well. You know, they’re doing a good job. So we have some depth at the position. But you know, you don’t know how long that lasts all the time.”

Wimsatt remains the most intriguing player of the two quarterbacks vying for the starting position at Rutgers. A former four-star recruit, his potential remains high although he needs to take a big step forward this fall.

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While he continued to struggle with accuracy as well as his reading of defenses, Wimsatt did show improvement in his third year with the team. Schiano said that “he’s made great strides.”

Wimsatt saw his completion percentage go up a tick last year while throwing more touchdowns than interceptions for the first time in his career.

And with his legs, he ran for 11 touchdowns, a not-insignificant part of his game.

“He’s grown his understanding of the game. He’s grown in his ability to use his mobility to his advantage,” Schiano said.

“I think coach Ciarrocca has done some good things that have allowed him to do that. So he’s been a weapon both with his legs and his arm. But most importantly, the growth he’s made as a quarterback is what excites me the most.”