Minnesota quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis has entered the transfer portal and P.J. Fleck and the Golden Gophers are in search of their next starting quarterback.
Following Kaliakmanis's departure, the Gophers are expected to have three scholarship quarterbacks on the roster for the 2024 season Cole Kramer, Drew Viotto, and Drake Lindsey. Kramer has seen time as a Gopher in his career on campus thus far but has never gotten a long look at being the program's starting quarterback, there is also a chance that the fifth-year quarterback looks to transfer this offseason as well.
Viotto, a rising redshirt freshman did not appear in a game for the Gophers as a true freshman and while there are high hopes around Arkansas native Drake Lindsey, it's far from a certainty that he'll be able to come in and contribute from Day 1 as a starting quarterback, meaning the Gophers' next starting signal caller is likely coming via the transfer portal.
With that being said, below, we look around the transfer portal and country at some names that could be of interest to the Golden Gophers in their search for a quarterback.
One name you won't see on this list is Kansas State transfer Will Howard. The Pennsylvania native is expected to be among the top quarterbacks available in the portal, if not the top, and the Gophers simply won't have the offensive success nor NIL capabilities to compete with the top programs that will be pursuing Howard.
That will also likely eliminate the likes of Mississippi State transfer Will Rogers and Miami transfer Tyler Van Dyke.
