When Athan Kaliakmanis was forced to step in for an injured Tanner Morgan in the fourth quarter of Minnesota’s 26-14 loss to Illinois earlier this season, it did not go well for the redshirt freshman quarterback. He completed only two passes and was intercepted twice.
Saturday at Nebraska was a different story.
With a start at Penn State under his belt, Kaliakmanis was called into action against the Huskers when the medical staff removed Morgan from the game after he took a hard hit from Nebraska defensive tackle Ty Robinson on a sack before halftime.
The Gophers were trailing 10-0 at the half and Kaliakmanis was charged with taking the reins of a moribund Minnesota offense that had been limited to only 31 yards in the first half.