There is a quarterback competition for Rutgers football, and Saturday’s spring game made it a whole lot more interesting.
And the frontrunners in the starting quarterback competition, incumbent starter Gavin Wimsatt and transfer portal addition Athan Kaliakmanis, only underscored their differences in the spring game. Both players bring a unique skill set to the Rutgers football offense.
Wimsatt with his legs (five rushes for 68 yards and two rushing touchdowns) and Kaliakmanis with his arm (10-of-17 for 147 yards and two passing touchdowns) fully showed their differences in the game.
Last year, Wimsatt was named the starting quarterback by head coach Greg Schiano prior to the start of training camp. The decision itself wasn’t a surprise as Wimsatt was seen last spring and summer as the likely heir apparent.
But unlike last year, it looks like Schiano will let this quarterback competition play out a bit longer for Rutgers.
“There’s been different times, different things that we’ve heard for sure,” Schiano told reporters on Saturday following the conclusion of the spring game about the quarterback competition.
“I’m not going to get into it. You know, when I finally make the announcement who it is then we’ll know. But until then it’ll just be what it is – it’s competition. I like all four of our quarterbacks – I think they’re all in their own way improving. It’s just going to be a matter of making a decision of who gives us the best chance to win. The who and the when, I don’t know.”
This spring, it might well be Kaliakmanis who has the inside track on being named the starting quarterback.
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A transfer portal addition, Kaliakmanis played for and was recruited by Rutgers offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca when the duo was previously at Minnesota.
Like Wimsatt, there is legitimate Big Ten starting experience on the resume of Kaliakmanis.
“I think Athan is blended very well. Now he has a head start in the fact that he knows our system. There’s some vocabulary things that were different but not extremely, that can be achieved in a month, couple of weeks really,” Ciarrocca said.
“But what he needed to do is get back on the same page with Kirk and learning exactly what Kurt wants done. You know, you can even call the play the same thing and you can draw it the same on paper.
“But coaching is those finer points, those anticipatory points, those things that get you ready to make the play – and I think Kirk is the best I’ve been around in teaching that. So to have Athan back in the room with the other quarterbacks was great. And you know he’s made progress in spring.”