# Athan Kaliakmanis

Athan Kaliakmanis (/ˈeɪθən ˌkæliəkˈmænɪs/ AY-thən KAL-ee-ək-MAN-iss) is an American football quarterback for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. He previously played for the Minnesota Golden Gophers.

## Early life

Kaliakmanis attended Antioch Community High School in Antioch, Illinois. In 2021, he was named the Illinois Gatorade Player of the Year after completing 77 of 132 passes for 1,158 yards and 15 touchdowns to just one interception. He also rushed 40 times for 245 yards and four touchdowns. Kaliakmanis committed to play college football at the University of Minnesota over other schools like FAU and Tennessee.

## College career
### Minnesota

Kaliakmanis redshirted as a freshman at Minnesota. As a sophomore, he made his debut against New Mexico State and had his first touchdown against Western Illinois. In the seventh game of the season, Kaliakmanis got his first career start at Penn State after starting quarterback Tanner Morgan went down with a concussion. In his first start he struggled, completing 9 of 22 passes for 175 yards, a touchdown, and an interception in a 45–17 loss. Kaliakmanis got his next chance in a week 9 matchup against Nebraska after Morgan again went down with an injury in the third quarter. Kaliakmanis went six for 12 for 137 yards in a 20–13 win after being down 10–0 at halftime. The next week Kaliakmanis earned his first win as a starter after going seven of 13 for 64 yards in a 31–3 win over Northwestern. Kaliakmanis got his third start against Iowa, going seven for 15 for 87 yards and an interception in a 13–10 last-second loss. Kaliakmanis started the season finale against Wisconsin and completed 19 of 29 passes for 319 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winning touchdown to La'Meke Brockington, as the Golden Gophers won 23–16, and was named the Big Ten Conference co-freshman of the week. Kaliakmanis started in the 2022 Pinstripe Bowl against Syracuse and completed seven of nine passes for 80 yards and a touchdown before exiting the game with a lower leg injury.
Kaliakmanis became the Golden Gophers starting quarterback in 2023.
On November 28, 2023, Kaliakmanis announced that he would be entering the NCAA transfer portal.

### Rutgers

On January 2, 2024, Kaliakmanis announced that he would be transferring to Rutgers University to play for the Scarlet Knights. He joined his brother, Dino, a wide receiver who had also transferred from Minnesota to Rutgers.

### College statistics

| Season | Games | Games | Games | Passing | Passing | Passing | Passing | Passing | Passing | Passing | Passing | Rushing | Rushing | Rushing | Rushing |
| Season | GP | GS | Record | Comp | Att | Pct | Yards | Avg | TD | Int | Rate | Att | Yards | Avg | TD |
| Minnesota Golden Gophers ||||||||||||||||
| 2021 | Redshirt | Redshirt | Redshirt | Redshirt | Redshirt | Redshirt | Redshirt | Redshirt | Redshirt | Redshirt | Redshirt | Redshirt | Redshirt | Redshirt | Redshirt |
| 2022 | 11 | 5 | 3−2 | 60 | 111 | 54.1 | 946 | 8.5 | 3 | 4 | 127.4 | 34 | 140 | 4.1 | 1 |
| 2023 | 12 | 12 | 5–7 | 156 | 294 | 53.1 | 1,838 | 6.3 | 14 | 9 | 115.2 | 74 | 94 | 1.3 | 2 |
| Rutgers Scarlet Knights ||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | 12 | 12 | 7–5 | 199 | 363 | 54.8 | 2,459 | 6.8 | 17 | 6 | 123.9 | 81 | 233 | 2.9 | 3 |
| Career | 35 | 29 | 15−14 | 415 | 768 | 54.0 | 5,243 | 6.8 | 34 | 19 | 121.0 | 189 | 467 | 2.5 | 6 |

## Personal life

Kaliakmanis is of Greek descent. He has a tattoo on his arm of the Greek word for family, οικογένεια. He was named after Athanasius of Alexandria, also known in English as Athan.