I think Kaliakmanis improved from good to elite
- Thread starter Extra Point
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I don’t think it’s fair to hold Athan too accountable for poor performance in that Nebraska game. 1) He was clearly hobbled and not comfortable playing in that knee brace. It was obvious. It impacted the run game - because QB keep had to be completely scrapped from the play book, as well as his ability to scramble on pass plays. 2) Nobody was going to pass well that day due to the wind gusts. And 3) not directly related to Athan - the fact that FGs were impossible In that game was a huge advantage for Nebraska who couldn’t buy one of those with their kicker anyways. Several of our drives would’ve come away with 3 points in that game under normal conditions. Getting zero has a psychological impact.
I can’t believe your still riding this horse. Give it up already. Miller couldn’t get open early in the game to save his life. Things changed for us when AK targeted Ian, a receiver who was available to Gavin last season. Miller only started having success later when Maryland had to respect our other receivers. And the yards after catch are because of where the ball is placed - it wouldn’t have mattered if we had Heisman receivers. Most receptions were made falling over last season because of where the ball was placed. Once your knee is down you can’t pick up yards after. Enough.
Elite? Seriously he is still ranked 96th nationally in passing efficiency. Even against Maryland his rating was a 155.3 which 18 QBs have season averages higher than that. His two game rating is a 129.8 which would be which would make him tied for 89th nationally. He is nowhere near elite. You are just so used to such bad QB play that even average play looks elite.
He’s not elite and doesn’t try to be. Hes steady and solid. He had 2 bad games all season - in the first 2 weeks where his knee brace surfaced (Nebraska and Wisconsin). And as stated, it wasn’t really possible for any QB to have a good day at Nebraska due to the weather conditions.
Many passes are supposed to be off target to that only receiver can get them.
When you have a tall QBs with 4ft arms and munchkin WRs with 2 ft arms the envelope gets stressed
Intentionally off-target pass that no 2023 WR would have caught
Elite was of course a ridiculous description but worth it to see PSU fan take the time to look up stats and post on this board. Equally funny and pathetic
He has gone from middling to good. He is not near elite yet. By mid season next year maybe he will be flirting with very good to elite, we will see.
That and a QB who can deliver the ball to the place where the receivers will be. AK has good zip on the ball and we are seeing throws that have been absent for 10 or so years.
He currently ranks 62nd of 100 QBs - last year he finished 93rd.
Max Brosmer at Minn is currently 48th
RU finally has a WR in top 100 - Miller is at 72.
Melton was last RU WR to make top 100
Which ones? I mean, I think he had a very good game. But he got a ton of time on many of the pass plays, and his WRs were making life really easy on him, most of the time.
There was one really good throw where he had to roll out right and looked to be thinking about carrying the ball, but spotted a WR (not sure which) checking back to th bal along the right sideline. AK stopped his run and made a great pass to that WR. His best play of the game, that I can recall at least.
Also made a great play on the one pass play where he got hammered just after the throw.
But not sure I’d call either pass elite. I’ve seen other QBs make plays like that many, many times. TBH, I’m not really sure how to define an elite throw except as being one most QBs can’t make. And I don’t think I saw anything like that.
I would call the pass to Miller on the sideline elite. AK was forced out of the pocket to the right and on the run threw a perfect pass. Miller established himself inbound as he caught the pass, then fell out of bounds for the completion. The game against Minnesota was another elite pass. The one he threw to Strong just over the defender in front of the other defender (behind Strong) along the sideline.
Elite wasn't really the right word because it is so subjective. It might mean a Heisman candidate or a QB that has a very high completion percentage, or a QB that knows how to win games and wins them. So to qualify his improvement I would ask the question can Kaliakmanis be drafted in the NFL. IMO based on the last two games I would say yes. Prior, based on his performance in earlier games without mentioning the specifics, I would have said no.
Two I had in mind were (1) crosser on 3rd down while he got drilled, and (2) the dime he dropped in the corner
Interesting…since I do believe the correct pronunciation of his name is actually Kaliakheisman and most people have been mispronouncing it…
Good throws for sure. But throws I see made all the time by other QBs in CFB.
It’s been awhile since we’ve seen them here, though.
Those types of throw are not as common at the college as you think. There is a reason why there are only a few elite QB, but a few more who can make elite throws. Out of 130+ D1 starting QB, maybe 7 or 8 are elite. The next 30 to 40 can make elite throws more often than not. The rest are average at best. AK begin the year in the rest group. The last few weeks he has moved to the fringe of the 30 to 40 group.
I do believe he will end the season in this group as his confidences increases. That will happen as he connects more with his receivers. I think he should have been in this group early, but Rutgers has away of slowed the growth of certain positions because it goes against the team's philosophy. The focus was always built around a strong running game even though the staff knew there were studs in the passing game. Perhaps, the studs needed time to develop because they were all new to each other. Still, we are here now and must embrace it going forward
that crosser on 3rd down impressed me. he knew he was getting drilled but he stood firm and delivered a perfect throw.
I see better throws deep from other QBs (flatter in many cases), and similar sideline throws or throws under pressure all the time. And I don't even watch very much football besides RU games. If I extrapolate out what I see regularly when I am watching other teams, nothing AK did on Saturday would be uncommon.
But if he continues to progress, and if our WRs and OL continue to progress, then perhaps I could see him being up in the top 40, as you say. But to me, that's still just good, not elite. Elite is an outlier and relatively rare, IMO.
Have to give more props to Kaliakmanis. He and his men moved the ball and got the score on that final drive with about 3 minutes left. Haven't seen that happen in a while. The fumble was tough but the defender got his hand on the ball and ripped it out. I'm pretty sad but no use crying over the final score.
Kaliakmanis was outright heroic at the end, with those first down runs and TD pass to take the lead. It’s a shame our D gave it up.
18 for 36 in pass completions is nowhere near elite!
On a very windy day, add in his key runs/scrambles, and he was clutch in key situations. I thought today was elite. To be consider elite he has to do it consistently. He keeps getting better and better and if it continues I wouldn’t bet against it next year.
I thought he played well today. The receivers had a chance to make a play on almost every deep ball.
Happy that he will be back next year.
Elite? No.
Happy that he will be back next year.
Elite? No.
Thread was ruined by the dumb title, takes the focus away from his quality play
had some bumps today at times but today he proved he is very solid, was good enough to win and made up for that one mistake fumble with his run on 4th and his passes during that drive
the sheer fact that we at least have a qb that can move the ball and try to score points, I know Greg doesnt like that, but his defense is poor so we have to put up points, imagine if we had this bad defense and had to rely on wimstatt..yikes
the sheer fact that we at least have a qb that can move the ball and try to score points, I know Greg doesnt like that, but his defense is poor so we have to put up points, imagine if we had this bad defense and had to rely on wimstatt..yikes
Any conversation about Athan’s mobility being a problem should also end with the Illinois game despite the loss. He clearly was not playing at 100% for a while as suddenly he’s running again with actual velocity - night and day difference. He still had something on his knee yesterday but the brace looked smaller. Im not sure Gavin ran for much positive yardage in 2022 after he returned from lower body injury.
The loss sucks - but the reality is it cost us the Citrus bowl not a playoff spot. In the long term it sucks but the trajectory for next season is more important. The offense is clearly trending in the right direction and if the D gets back Mo and Bailey the silver lining is we’ll be in very good shape for next.
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