Did Gophers upgrade with Max Brosmer over Athan Kaliakmanis?

Will Minnesota have better play at the QB position in 2024?

Minnesota made a massive splash in the transfer portal this offseason, adding Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) leading passer Max Brosmer from New Hampshire as last year's starting quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis moved within the conference to Rutgers.

Brosmer is an accomplished veteran quarterback, but his success came in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) at the FCS level, so he is still a bit of an unknown. Kaliakmanis came to Minnesota as the Illinois Gatorade Player of the Year and a four-star high school recruit.

Is Brosmer a clear upgrade over Kaliakmanis?

Brosmer's journey to Minnesota

A native of Roswell, Ga., Brosmer threw for 3,459 yards and 31 touchdowns in his senior year at Centennial High School in 2019. He was the 3,690th-best recruit in the country, according to 247Sports. He received some interest FBS interest, but no official scholarship offer. At the FCS level, he picked up offers from Dayton, Yale, Columbia and Dartmouth before settling on New Hampshire.

He quickly contributed in Durham, N.H., starting the final 10 games of his true freshman season. His best year came as a senior in 2023, where he threw for an FCS-best 3,459 yards, 29 touchdowns and only six interceptions. He decided to make the jump to FBS for his final season of college football, eventually committing to the Gophers.

Skillset comparison: Brosmer vs. Kaliakmanis

	Max Brosmer	Athan Kaliamanis
Height/Weight	6'2"/217 pounds	6'4"/210 pounds
Age	24	21
Career-starts	35	17
Passing Yds/start	248.9	163.8
TD/INT ratio	2.8	1.3

Based on on-field production, it's not even a fair comparison to look at Brosmer vs. Kaliakmanis. But it would be naive to compare defenses in the CAA like Villanova, Delaware or Rhode Island to defenses in the Big Ten like Michigan, Ohio State or Penn State. Stats simply are not a fair way to look at this.

Both players have similar athletic profiles. Kaliakmanis is two inches taller and a little skinnier, but Brosmer is a little shorter and has a bit more muscle, so there isn't a clear difference there either.

It's worth noting that Brosmer isn’t your typical FCS quarterback. He often works with renowned quarterbacks coach Quincy Avery, who also works with NFL QBs such as Deshaun Watson, Jordan Love and Josh Dobbs. Kaliakmanis and most QBs also work with a private throwing coach, but it's worth mentioning that Brosmer is involved with one of the best in the business.

Overall conclusion

The fact that Kaliakmanis is still expected to start at a Big Ten program in Rutgers tells you that he is still a very talented quarterback. Declaring that Brosmer is a massive upgrade at the position, based on FCS production, would be a little bit reckless.

A major thing that Brosmer possesses that should help this program is experience. He has already brought a handful of his Gophers teammates to Georgia to train, and they even went to an Atlanta Braves game. Leadership is a major trait that all great quarterbacks have, and he has brought that into the Minnesota program.

A schematic change to the U's offensive philosophy might be a bigger storyline heading into the season rather than the QB spot, but Brosmer has the chance to take an opportunity and run with it.