Q&A with new Rutgers Football quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis
Tuesday marked the first day of spring practice, and new Rutgers Football quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis spoke with the media for the first time since arriving on campus.
See what he had to say below.
Question: What have those first nine to ten weeks been like since you have got here and why did you decide to ultimately come to Rutgers?
Athan Kaliakmanis: "Super competitive with each other, we are not competing with one another, rather we are competing with one another and that'ss what I have noticed from this team so far and I love that. Everybody’s hungry, everybody wants to work, and it's been fun too. I've had a great time here everybody was very welcoming, open arms I feel at home here it’s really just been a really good time for me.”
Q: What was the role of OC Kirk Ciarrocca on your decision to come here and your relationship you have with him?
AK: "I am very fortunate that they were interested when I was in the portal. You know the portal can be a scary place, I was fortunate that a lot of schools were interested but very thankful that Coach Ciarrocca and Coach (Greg) Schiano were interested in me. But yeah our relationship is very tight in Minnesota and just picking his brain I think he is a very very smart coordinator. He's very intelligent and I trust him."
Q: Are there any noticeable differences or similarities going off Minnesota and here?
AK: "Yeah I would say there are a lot of similarities I mean college football is college football everybody’s good everybody works hard, I wouldn’t say there is much differences you know I have really just been focused on here I haven’t really thought about comparisons to be honesty but my first day here I just had a lot of fun.”
Q: What is your impression on Gavin Wimsatt in the time you have gotten to know him and who he is as a quarterback?
AK: "Yeah he’s got a lot of talent he could really throw the ball and I love how he was one of the first people to welcome me into the community with everybody like he was the leader that stepped up and took me under his wing and I really appreciate that for him he’s a really good dude. He’s smart, he's got a lot of talent he can run. He's a really good person too and that is something I’ve noticed about him. He's a really good dude. He's a really good person. He's someone you want to call when there is something wrong.”
Q: How much of an advantage has it been to really know the system?
AK: "Yeah I mean there always you always got to master the system so I wouldn’t say it’s really an advantage and I don’t know all of the system there a lot of new things I know some things you know just master wise I’m going to master more as we keep going forward a lot of things are new so when I came here I didn’t know a lot of things thats what I meant by what I said but, just learning you know getting use to the new things is really cool to, to see different things different plays yeah it’s been really fun.”
Q: To a new fan base that’s going to be reading about Athan Kaliakmanis, what would be your projection of yourself? What would you want the fans to know about you?
AK: "Came here to win and to do whatever I can to help this team win, So if that is me putting my body on the line for my teammates I am willing to do it, I am just willing to do anything I can to help this team win, whatever role that is whatever the situation is that’s what I want to do."
Q: Athan how do you approach the competition?
AK: "Yeah, I don’t even look at it as a competition I look at it as I am just trying to better myself every single day I don’t look at competing against Gavin, there’s a lot of things I need to get better at, there’s a lot of things he needs to get better at and every quarterback would say that about themselves in the room, so I don’t really look at it like that I look at improving myself everyday because I have a lot to improve on from last year so I mean we already have such a great relationship just competing with you know, if I make a good throw he’s going to make a good throw he makes a good throw I’m going to make a good throw and that’s just the competitors that we are but we are never competing against each other."
Q: You have a unique connection with one of the receivers on the roster, your brother, what's it been like settling in with him and just kind of learning the playbook and settling it to a second new school?
AK: "I could speak all day about my brother, so many good things to say about him but that’s what makes it easier is having someone that I could constantly work with I could constantly study, with constantly do things that are not required with, so it’s really I am just blessed and grateful to have a brother that’s plays wide out too it’s awesome.”
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