PISCATAWAY, N.J. >> After Athan Kaliakmanis took a knee to seal Rutgers’ 26-19 win Saturday, a steady string of former Gophers teammates and staff members greeted him with hugs and handshakes near midfield at SHI Stadium.

The ex-teammates kept coming up to him, so many that it resembled a receiving line at a big wedding. But this string of well wishes came post-divorce, a situation where you are still cool with your ex.

Last November, Kaliakmanis entered the NCAA transfer portal once his redshirt sophomore regular season ended at Minnesota. The Illinois native soon landed at Rutgers, and 48 weeks later, he beat his former team in a Big Ten game.

More than an hour later Saturday, Kaliakmanis stood tall in the Rutgers team meeting room, while wearing Crocs — just like he did in Minnesota. In a bright orange pair of those rubber slip-ons, he wasn’t willing to step too far into the Gophers game carrying a revenge factor.

“It was hard because I had relationships with those guys, too,” Kaliakmanis told the Pioneer Press and a handful of New Jersey reporters. “I played there. I lived there for three years.”

Kaliakmanis started hot, completing 70% of his passes for 216 yards, two touchdowns and one interception for a 14-9 lead at the half. In the third quarter, the Gophers’ defense brought more pressure and Kaliakmanis’ cooled, completing 23% for only 24 yards. But he capitalized on a crushing Gophers fumble in the fourth quarter to throw his third TD pass, the eventual game-winner with seven minutes remaining.

“It was a great opportunity; I will say that,” Kaliakmanis said. “It was awesome to share the field with them again. Then with this new team that we have now. The relationships that we built here and being able to play with the guys.”

Last November, Gophers coach P.J. Fleck told Kaliakmanis the U would head into the portal for another quarterback, but Kaliakmanis could stay and compete. Instead, he sought a new beginning.

“I wouldn’t say it was difficult (to put the past aside),” Kaliakmanis said. “I think that was something that I did when I was in the portal to be honest with you. I wanted a fresh start. I wanted to come somewhere and do things — just start over. That is what I did.”

Fleck also sought out Kaliakmanis on the field.

“He told me he was happy for me,” Kaliakmanis said. “That meant a lot to me to hear (that) from him. He went out of his way to come up to me and told me he was happy for me and happy for what I have been doing. I’m really happy for him, too. I had a great relationship with him for three years.”

The entire postgame scene touched Kaliakmanis.

“That meant everything to me, if you want the honest truth,” he said. “They all came up to me. It was like the entire team. But that just shows that it wasn’t on bad terms. I left, and we still talk to each other. I still care about those guys. I’m somewhere else but I still care about them, and I still have relationships with them.”

Gophers linebacker Cody Lindenberg was one of them.

“At the end of the day, football is what we do,” Lindenberg said. “He was still a friend from the team. We had connections, and that had nothing to do with what was going on in the game. It’s a football game at the end of the day. … But after that shook his hand, said ‘What’s up.’ Again, it was good to see him. Told him to say healthy the rest of the season, continued success.”

Then on the field, Kaliakmanis was greeted by his father Alex, Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano, offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca — who originally recruited Kaliakmanis to Minnesota and then to Rutgers when he became the Scarlet Knights’ OC.

“It’s been hard for all of us,” Athan said. “But we stay together as a family. This team stays together. We are a family. We don’t leave each other.”