2024 Gophers Position Previews: Quarterbacks

September's coming soon, so it is once again time to start thinking about football. Ski-U-Blog will analyze every position group on the Gophers' roster: starters, depth, and potential future contributors. The third post in this annual series covers a nearly totally remade quarterback group.

Likely Starter

Last year's version of this post looked a lot different. Athan Kaliakmanis was entering his first full year as the Gophers' No. 1, and the big question was when he could put together his physical tools for more than a few plays a game, and become a genuine power-conference starter. The answer, if we ever get one, will not come while Kaliakmanis wears a Minnesota uniform: After a difficult season and a semi-public dispute over his reasons for leaving, Kaliakmanis transferred to Rutgers to rejoin his former coordinator, Kirk Ciarrocca. Backup Cole Kramer started his post-football life, and third-stringer Drew Viotto left for Eastern Michigan.

Filling the void is Max Brosmer, a New Hampshire graduate in his last year of eligibility. As every broadcast is sure to mention between Week 1 and at least the end of October, Brosmer took a group of teammates on a part-work, part-bonding retreat in his native Georgia after spring practices. He clearly does not want to spend the whole season as The New Guy.

By the stats, Brosmer (with a long "O," like "throw") is intriguing but not exciting. He was 2nd in the FCS in passing attempts and passing yards while throwing just five interceptions, but his per-attempt (7.5 yards) and per-completion (11.8) numbers were fairly middling. Over half of his attempts last season, according to Pro Football Focus, were within 9 yards of the line of scrimmage or behind it.

At first glance, the Gophers found a quarterback who has shown he can take care of the ball in the short and intermediate game.

The question is whether Brosmer can reliably threaten FBS secondaries deep. Over his career, per PFF, he has averaged 14.1 yards per attempt on his passes of 20 yards or more. That is not outstanding but better than average, hinting that he could at least be serviceable throwing the long ball.

Watching Brosmer confirms what the stat line says. He is mostly a sound passer who works in the short and intermediate areas most often and most effectively. In rhythm, he can make his job look casual.

Brosmer gets his hips around well to generate power, and his delivery is quick and compact. He does not always properly gauge the touch he needs on lobs, far more adept at delivering bullets over the middle than at throwing a fade.

Brosmer can run as needed, but improvisation is not a strength. Moving parallel to the line of scrimmage, he will sometimes land a short throw to the flat at the receiver's feet. When scrambling and trying to find an open target, Brosmer does not bail from the pocket too quickly and usually keeps his eyes downfield, although he does not always look certain of himself. He can be a tick late to notice that someone has come open or to throw it away, extending the play without an out and putting himself at risk.

In a lot of ways, Brosmer presents the logical antidote that P.J. Fleck would have wanted after watching Kaliakmanis. The toolsy but technically rough project did not work out, so the floor-raising veteran is here to replace him. As a move to stabilize the offense, it should work. I am confident Brosmer will execute the easy stuff and avoid turnovers. However, I have not seen much that suggests he will unlock a higher level passing to Big Ten skill players.

Key Backups

True freshman Drake Lindsey will compete for the second-string job. Lindsey was a state champion at Fayetteville High School (Arkansas), where his senior season he threw for 52 touchdowns while sporting a Minnesota towel as part of his uniform.

Lindsey's state title game performance is a mixed bag that nevertheless contains the positives you can find in his highlights. His 6-foot-5-inch, 235-pound frame can make scrambles awkward. His spiral can be hideous, but that does not seem to lead to accuracy problems. Lindsey can throw a receiver open, but in order to replicate it against college defenses, he needs to show that his at times excellent touch will hold when he applies more velocity. While his arm strength is good, he can lean back and rely too much on his arm on deep balls, floating it and allowing a defender to catch up. Overall, Lindsey shows promise but has plenty to clean up before he can be the first-choice quarterback.

The second transfer quarterback coming to Minnesota is Dylan Wittke, who in his first year of college football did not play a snap at Virginia Tech. Wittke was a composite 3-star recruit out of powerhouse Buford High School (Georgia), where he played in a largely run-focused offense. (He had many handoffs to Justice Haynes, a 5-star tailback who may start for Alabama this year.) With Kyron Drones taking over as the Hokies' starter for likely two more years, and with fellow 2023 signee William Watson III on the roster, Wittke left Blacksburg and landed in Minneapolis.

Because of the system and how many blowouts he played in, it is hard to find useful video of Wittke. What I was able to find was less encouraging than Lindsey's tape. Wittke's arm is adequate but not overly impressive. Even when stepping into a throw, he may deliver too soft a ball, and in general his downfield placement is inconsistent. Buford's loss to Walton in the state playoffs contained a few examples of that, though Wittke did make a couple of high-level throws late.

He is better than average at delivering on the run but is quick to break the pocket rather than finding room to step up. His urge to make a play can also get him into trouble, as on his interception against Marietta. His junior highlights show off his toughness and decent speed as a runner. If Minnesota wants to revive their Wildcat package, that could provide Wittke an immediate way onto the field, but I am not sold on him as starter material. The Gophers may want to find another one-year stopgap to follow Brosmer before letting Lindsey and Wittke battle for the job in 2026.

Notables Unlikely to Contribute

If Max Shikenjanski enters a game this year, something has either gone terribly wrong or unbelievably right. The redshirt freshman from Stillwater has one of the roster's best names and is the only remnant from last year's quarterback room. He is also a walk-on and the clear fourth option. Finally, there's Jeremiah Finaly, a Californian walk-on sporting the unquarterbacklike No. 21.