Commanders pick ex-Rutgers football QB Athan Kaliakmanis in NFL Draft

Athan Kaliakmanis is headed to the NFL.

The former Rutgers football quarterback, who helped revitalize the offense in his two seasons in a Scarlet Knights uniform after transferring from Minnesota, was selected in the seventh round by the Washington Commanders on April 25.

The selection of Kaliakmanis, the 223rd overall pick, made it five straight years that Rutgers has had at least one NFL Draft pick. That matches a record the program set from 1981-85.

The signal-caller made multiple visits to NFL teams throughout the pre-draft process, getting the chance to showcase how he could play at the next level.

Kaliakmanis, joining Mike McMahon and Mike Teel as the only quarterbacks to be drafted out of Rutgers, made a solid impression while in Piscataway.

He started 25 games with the Scarlet Knights. The Illinois native left his mark on the program’s record books, leaving seventh in career passing yards (5,820), completions (442), passing touchdowns (38) and total offense (6,405).

Kaliakmanis became the first Rutgers quarterback to have back-to-back 2,500 passing yard seasons since 2007-08, and was one of only three quarterbacks in the program’s history to throw for 3,000 yards in a season.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Rutgers football QB Athan Kaliakmanis picked in 7th round of NFL Draft