Poised and calm, Gophers back-up quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis comes through in his cameo

Who would be leading P.J. Fleck's offense right now if Tanner Morgan had not returned to the Gophers for a sixth season?

One possibility is redshirt freshman Athan Kaliakmanis, a former four-star recruit.

Morgan is back. So the other Gophers quarterbacks mostly watched from the sidelines in wins over New Mexico State and Western Illinois to open the 2022 season.

But Kaliakmanis did get his first taste of action late in both blowout wins, including going 3-for-3 for 67 yards and rushing for a touchdown on Saturday.

Despite the competition, the Gophers seem excited at what they saw from the 6-4, 205-pound signal caller from Antioch, Ill.

"He was really poised, he was calm," Morgan said on Tuesday. "He went in there and executed the plays that were called. He's incredibly accurate, and it was fun just to see him go out there and play ball."

The Gophers were running away with the game with a 45-3 lead with 4:46 left in the third quarter when Kaliakmanis took over for Morgan. His impact was immediate with passes of 26 and 21 yards to Clay Geary. And he also connected with Dylan Wright with a 20-yarder on the same drive.

Kaliakmanis celebrated in the end zone after a 1-yard run for his first career score, the first TD by a freshman QB since Morgan and Zack Annexstad both started as redshirt freshmen in 2018.

Fleck and offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca haven't announced whether Kaliakmanis or redshirt junior Cole Kramer is the No. 2 QB. Kramer was the first to replace Morgan vs. New Mexico State, but the potential is clear for his younger counterpart.

"You can tell he was loving it just being out there and playing," Morgan said. "He actually knew the system really well. He drove us down there and we scored twice when he was operating it. I think he did a fantastic job."

Junior wide receiver Michael Brown-Stephens had his head down after a fumble early in Saturday's win vs. Western Illinois, but he moved on quickly after his teammates picked him up walking off the field.

On the game-opening drive, Brown-Stephens caught an 18-yard pass from Morgan, but a 2-yard catch on the ensuing play ended with his losing the football.

"Forget about it," Brown-Stephens heard from teammates. "Go make the most out of the next play."

And the Gophers offense did just that with 62 points and 679 total yards. He finished with three catches for 55 yards, including a 35-yarder.

"But I have to do a better job taking care of the ball," Brown-Stephens said. "That's been a big point of emphasis this week, especially for the wide outs."

Former Gophers offensive coordinator Mike Sanford will be on the opposite side Saturday coaching with Colorado, but it's not something overly concerning for the Gophers.

Fleck said he changed a few things for this week. He also expects the Buffaloes to do the same since there's a familiarity with Sanford's system.

Sanford was hired as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Colorado after being let go by the Gophers last December. The passing game struggled in Sanford's two seasons under Fleck, but that's in the past now.

"I'm really appreciative of him," Morgan said. "The investment he poured into me and a lot of people. I have no ill will or any feeling like that towards him."