Minnesota QB commit named Illinois Gatorade Player of the Year
A Minnesota quarterback commit has raked in an impressive honor.
Athan Kaliakmanis, a 4-star quarterback out of Antioch, Illinois, was named the Gatorade Player of the Year for Illinois. He is a member of the Golden Gophers’ 2021 recruiting class and will join the program next month.
Kaliakmanis threw for 1,158 yards and 15 touchdowns while also rushing for 235 yards and 4 touchdowns during Antioch Community’s spring season. In 2018, he threw for 2,084 yards and 26 touchdowns and rushed for 610 more and scored 11 touchdowns on the ground.
#Gophers quarterback signee Athan Kaliakmanis (@aajk_23) was named the Gatorade Player of the Year for the state of Illinois today following his spring senior season.
He'll enroll at Minnesota next month. https://t.co/kAW6pBE9GS pic.twitter.com/OnxS7EcKU3
— Ryan Burns (@RyanBurnsMN) May 13, 2021
Per 247Sports Kaliakmanis ranked as the No. 12 dual-threat quarterback in the 2021 class and was the No. 2 player from Illinois. Nationally, the QB was ranked No. 316 overall, earning a 4-star rating.
A dozen schools offered Kaliakmanis, but he committed to Minnesota over Boston College, Iowa, Iowa State, Purdue, Syracuse, Tennessee and Virginia Tech at the Power 5 level. Group of 5 programs to offer included Central Michigan, Florida Atlantic, Northern Illinois and Western Michigan.
Kaliakmanis is part of a Minnesota recruiting class that ranked No. 8 in the B1G and No. 38 nationally.