Will Tanner Morgan play vs. Penn State on Saturday night?
According to the Pioneer Press's Andy Greder, Minnesota Golden Gophers quarterback Tanner Morgan traveled with the team for Saturday night's game against No. 16 Penn State, but it's unclear whether the senior will make the start after suffering a head injury last week.
Morgan was injured in last week's loss to Illinois when he was struck in the head with a closed fist by linebacker Gabe Jacas. Morgan was taken off the field on a stretcher but cleared testing and traveled home with the team later that night.
punched Tanner Morgan right in the damn head pic.twitter.com/46moJ2AZEa
— Christian D'Andrea (@TrainIsland) October 15, 2022
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Fleck said Morgan was "doing much better" on Sunday morning but wasn't sure how much his quarterback would practice this week. While he said Morgan didn't necessarily have to practice the entire week to play on Saturday night, he said the decision will be made by the Gophers' medical staff.
"That stuff is out of my hands," Fleck said when asked about Morgan's status. "I just know he appreciates all the prayers, thoughts, support, text messages from everybody. I know we do as well as a team. … In terms of the quarterback situation, we have other quarterbacks that can play if he’s not able to go. But that’s not necessarily just ruled out yet. But I’m not the one in charge of all those decisions. That’s our medical team, and I know he’s in very, very good care and doing really well."
Greder could not confirm how much Morgan practiced this week but if he can't go, the Gophers will have two inexperienced options at quarterback.
Cole Kramer is an Eden Prairie native that has played in 14 games for the Gophers over his career, but he has just 13 passing attempts over four seasons with the team while being used in a specialty formation to take advantage of his running ability.
A more intriguing option is redshirt freshman Athan Kaliakmanis, who is a four-star recruit out of Antioch, Ill. Kaliakmanis relieved Morgan after his injury last week and played extensively in the Gophers' win over Western Illiniois on Sept. 10, completing all three of his passes for 67 yards.
Former Gopher Coney Durr had already given Kaliakmanis his stamp of approval on Twitter, recalling a practice last year when he torched the starting defense while a member of the scout team.
Athan is the future of the program , I will never forget the day he torched the started defense last year as the scout QB😂
— Coney Durr (@CD16ERA) September 10, 2022
Durr also predicted that Kaliakmanis will be the starting quarterback for the Gophers next season.
No question , he has the best arm talent I’ve seen , he makes all the throws ! Easily .
— Coney Durr (@CD16ERA) September 10, 2022
Before Gopher fans get excited about a quarterback whose high school coach described as a "gunslinger" that has "a little bit of Patrick Mahomes [and] Brett Favre" in him, the challenge will be a big one on Saturday night.
Penn State is hosting Minnesota in their annual White Out game where 107,000 fans are expected to pack Beaver Stadium on Saturday night. While it will be quite the spectacle for a nationally televised audience, it could be a raucous environment for any quarterback to make his first start.
If Morgan can't go, Fleck will have to decide which quarterback will give the Gophers the best chance to win in Happy Valley.
