After participating in the Hula Bowl this past week, Rutgers quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis has accepted an invitation to participate in another senior showcase, the American Bowl. This provides him another opportunity to show his skills in front of NFL scouts, with the hope of improving his overall draft stock. His announcement came this week via his Instagram account. He will be joined by another Rutgers grad, wide reciever DT Sheffield, as Sheffield accepted his invite to the American Bowl earlier
in the off-season.
The American bowl is one of the more unique senior showcases, as it only started up this season. According to the games website, 10 of the On-Field Coaches are military veteran coaches, aka “Soldier Coaches.” An additional 2 military veterans are serving as “Soldier Ops.” It is the hope of those who organized the events that the Soldier Coaches and Soldier Ops gain valuable experience, wisdom, and connections to grow in their post-military careers so they can lead communities on and off the football field.
During his time at the Hula bowl, Kaliakmanis worked with former NFL head coach Jon Gruden and many other former NFL coaches and players to refine his skills and put on a show for the scouts in attendance. In the American bowl, Kaliakmanis will work under either former Ravens head coach Brian Billick or former Falcons head coach Mike Smith. Either way, he will add more experience with former NFL coaches to his resume and arsenal.
Both of these events are meant to help improve the draft stock of college seniors who are looking to get drafted into the NFL. Kaliakmanis had a great year for Rutgers in 2025, throwing for over 3,000 yards. Since this quarterback class isn’t very deep from a draft perspective, it is not unreasonable to think that he will go somewhere in the later rounds. If he can continue to show out at senior showcases such as this one, and at other events such as the NFL combine (hasn’t sent invitations yet), he should be selected to have a new home by the end of April 25th.
