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Gophers will start quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis against Northwestern

andy greder, pioneer press
·1 min read
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Gophers quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis will start his second career collegiate game on Saturday against Northwestern at Huntington Bank Stadium, a source told he Pioneer Press.

Kaliakmanis stepped in for an injured Tanner Morgan and led Minnesota to a 20-13 comeback win over Nebraska last weekend. In Lincoln, Neb., the redshirt freshman led Minnesota to 20 answered points and completed 6 of 12 passes for 137 yards, including long passes of 45 and 38 yards, and had three rushes for 27 yards.

Morgan was deemed to have an upper-body injury against the Cornhuskers after being knocked out of two games over a four-week span, including on a big hit as the U trailed Nebraska 10-0 at the half last week.

Morgan suffered a concussion in the fourth quarter of the 26-14 loss to Illinois on Oct. 15, with Kaliakmanis finishing that game. It’s unclear if Morgan suffered another concussion and is back in the NCAA’s return-to-play protocol.

After Illinois, Morgan missed the following game against Penn State, with Kaliakmanis making his first career collegiate start in the White Out game in front of nearly 110,000 fans in Happy Valley on Oct. 22.

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