Photo: Bobak Ha'Eri, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons²

Athan Kaliakmanis

Quarterback, Washington Commanders · #16.

Player facts

Team: Washington Commanders
Position: Quarterback
Number: 16
Born: Aug 20, 2003 (age 23)
Birthplace: Antioch, IL, USA
Height: 6' 2"
Weight: 216 lbs
College: Rutgers
Experience: Rookie
Status: Active

Stats

2026 Passing

	CMP	ATT	CMP%	YDS	AVG	TD	INT	LNG	SACK	RTG	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	LNG
Regular Season	15	33	45.5	186	5.6	1	1	48	1	60.9	3	16	5.3	0	9
Career	15	33	45.5	186	5.6	1	1	48	1	60.9	3	16	5.3	0	9

Advanced stats

2026 season through week 6. EPA per play is the points a play added to the team’s expected score; success rate is the share of plays that kept the offense on schedule; CPOE is completion percentage over what the throws’ difficulty predicted. Rank is by EPA per play.

	Plays	EPA/play	Success	CPOE	League rank
Passing	34 dropbacks	-0.30	29%	-11.8	fewer than 90 plays

NFL data: nflverse, CC BY 4.0.

Recent games

			Passing											Rushing
Date	Opponent	Result	CMP	ATT	YDS	CMP%	AVG	TD	INT	LNG	SACK	RTG	QBR	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	LNG
Sun, Oct 4	vs IND	L 30-13	15	33	186	45.5	5.6	1	1	48	1	60.9	21.2	3	16	5.3	0	9

Last 1 games. Click a game for its box score.

About

Athan Kaliakmanis ( AY-thən KAL-ee-ək-MAN-iss; born August 20, 2003) is an American professional football quarterback for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). Kaliakmanis played college football for the Minnesota Golden Gophers and Rutgers Scarlet Knights and was selected by the Commanders in the seventh round of the 2026 NFL draft.

From Wikipedia’s article on Athan Kaliakmanis, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.¹

Background

Early life

Kaliakmanis was born on August 20, 2003, and grew up in Antioch, Illinois, later attending Antioch Community High School. In 2021, he was named the Illinois Gatorade Player of the Year after completing 77 of 132 passes for 1,158 yards and 15 touchdowns to just one interception. He also rushed 40 times for 245 yards and four touchdowns. Kaliakmanis committed to play college football for the Golden Gophers at the University of Minnesota.

Minnesota

Kaliakmanis redshirted as a freshman at Minnesota. As a sophomore, he made his debut against New Mexico State and had his first touchdown against Western Illinois. In the seventh game of the season, Kaliakmanis got his first career start at Penn State after starting quarterback Tanner Morgan went down with a concussion. In his first start he completed 9 of 22 passes for 175 yards, a touchdown, and an interception in a 45–17 loss. Kaliakmanis got his next chance in a Week 9 matchup against Nebraska after Morgan again went down with an injury in the third quarter. Kaliakmanis went 6-for-12 for 137 yards in a 20–13 win after being down 10–0 at halftime. The next week Kaliakmanis earned his first win as a starter after going 7-for-13 for 64 yards in a 31–3 win over Northwestern. Kaliakmanis got his third start against Iowa, going 7-for-15 for 87 yards and an interception in a 13–10 last-second loss. Kaliakmanis started the season finale against Wisconsin and completed 19 of 29 passes for 319 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winning touchdown to La'Meke Brockington, as the Golden Gophers won 23–16, and was named the Big Ten Conference co-freshman of the week. Kaliakmanis started in the 2022 Pinstripe Bowl against Syracuse and completed seven of nine passes for 80 yards and a touchdown before exiting the game with a lower leg injury.

Kaliakmanis became the Golden Gophers starting quarterback in 2023.

On November 28, 2023, Kaliakmanis announced that he would be entering the NCAA transfer portal.

Rutgers

On January 2, 2024, Kaliakmanis announced that he would be transferring to Rutgers University to play for the Scarlet Knights. He joined his brother, Dino, a wide receiver who had also transferred from Minnesota to Rutgers.