Athan Kaliakmanis brought the forward pass back to Rutgers during his time on the banks.
Now, he is battling for a spot with the Washington Commanders.
Kaliakmanis made an impression on the front office in D.C. during his pre-draft visit and it led to becoming a seventh-round pick. He then made his NFL debut against the Miami Dolphins in the first week of the preseason.
Marcus Mariota suffered a sprained MCL on a handoff in this game, leaving the Commanders without a backup quarterback at the moment.
The belief is that Mariota will not miss significant time but will be out the remainder of the preseason. This gives Kaliakmanis more of an opportunity to showcase what he can do.
Kaliakmanis went 6-for-10 for 87 yards on Friday night. He will likely split time with Sam Hartman, former Wake Forest standout and practice squad QB for Washington, for the remainder of the preseason.
Kaliakmanis stood out in his first action because of his physical and verbal tools.
“For Athan, to see him communicate and then also be at the end of the game using the clock in a four-minute,” Commanders head coach Dan Quinn told the media. “Anytime you can basically end the half with the ball, to get points, and end the game with it, that’s a big deal. The quarterback has a big responsibility in that, using the clock. I didn’t use timeouts until it got to a certain spot. So, he felt calm in the space tonight.”
Kaliakmanis spent two years at Rutgers after transferring in from Minnesota. In those two years, he threw for 5,820 yards with 38 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. In 2025, Kaliakmanis became the first Rutgers’ quarterback to eclipse 3,000 passing yards in over a decade.
Rutgers fans will be rooting for their guy as the preseason goes on. With Mariota on the shelf for a few weeks, Kaliakmanis has a chance to prove why belongs on the team.
“I’ll be looking forward to watching him,” Quinn said. “I thought you’d see his arm strength come out a little bit, and it did on some of the play-action passes.”
