.png&width=42&height=42&type=webp)
University of Minnesota Athletics
ABDUL-KHALIQ CONTINUES TO HANDLE ADVERSITY WITH CLASS
4/30/2001 12:00:00 AM | Football
The highly touted Abdul-Khaliq was cast with so much potential after a phenomenal high school career at Elizabeth High School in New Jersey. After failing to qualify for the NCAA, Asad worked extremely hard on and off the field en route to a record-breaking season at Fork Union Military Academy. At the Fork Union, he broke NFL quarterback Vinny Testeverde's touchdown-to-interception ratio. In that season Abdul Khaliq threw 18 touchdown passes and only three interceptions. Not only did his football accomplishments make him a better quarterback, his military experience made him a stronger man.
"It turned me into a man," Abdul-Khaliq said.
Abdul-Khaliq's maturity would be tested again. After a sensational debut against the University of Louisiana-Monroe in which he completed 12-of-18 pass attempts for 161 yards and three touchdowns, Abdul Khaliq had an atypical performance against Ohio University. In the Golden Gophers 23-17 loss to Ohio, Abdul Khaliq completed only 10-of-28 attempts for 223 yards with a fumble and an interception. He rebounded the following week against Baylor University connecting on 14-of-20 passes for 172 yards and two touchdowns.
As with any freshman quarterback, consistency became an issue. After leading the Golden Gophers to victory against Baylor, Abdul-Khaliq had yet to face a Big Ten opponent. His first test against Purdue was a game that Asad would like to forget about. Going up against the best quarterback in the Big Ten in Purdue's Drew Brees, Abdul-Khaliq completed only 5-of-12 attempts for 34 yards and no touchdowns before finding the bench prior to halftime with the Maroon and Gold trailing 24-0. He watched the entire second half from the sidelines and saw junior college transfer Travis Cole run the Golden Gopher offense, outscoring the Boilermakers 24-14 after the quarterback change. The final score of the game was 38-24, but the question on everyone's mind was who was going to start at quarterback for the next game and possibly the rest of the season.
Head Coach Glen Mason decided to shake things up and appoint Cole as his starter after leading the team to victories against Illinois, Penn State, Iowa and the unforgettable upset in Columbus, Ohio against Mason's alma mater, the Ohio State Buckeyes. Mason acknowledged Abdul- Khaliq's talent and realized his ability was too valuable to the offense and used Abdul-Khaliq's talents as a compliment to Cole. Mason inserted Abdul-Khaliq in many pivotal situations, utilizing his quick feet and amazingly strong arm. His scrambling ability surprised many opposing defenses and continued successful drives that consistently moved the chains downfield. During his time on the sidelines, Abdul-Khaliq was able to see the game from another perspective. Abdul-Khaliq continued to work hard in practice and earned his way onto the field in each game of the 2000 season.
Throughout spring practice, Coach Mason has stated that he expects both quarterbacks to get significant game action this season. Abdul-Khaliq is preparing himself so that he can enter the game at any given situation. Whether it is for a single play or an entire drive, Abdul- Khaliq will be ready to contribute. During spring practice, he is looking to improve his agility, short distance accuracy, and defensive awareness.
Mason has used the term "1A" to describe Abdul-Khaliq's depth chart status, a term used by former Nebraska Head Coach Tom Osborne at Nebraska during his 1994 national championship season with quarterbacks Tommie Frazier and Brook Berringer. Coach Osborne had a similar situation with two proven, capable quarterbacks that brought different game breaking abilities to the gridiron. Similar to Abdul-Khaliq, Frazier was the mobile, athletic quarterback while Berringer, similar to Cole, was the drop back pin-point passer. Mason looks to use his two quarterbacks in similar roles, shaking up opposing defenses.
Mason believes the healthy competition between the two will make each quarterback a better player in addition to improving last years record- setting offense which averaged 429.1 yards per game. With each every practice and each game, Abdul-Khaliq expects to gain more experience and further his development, taking advantage of every opportunity that he is presented.
The challenges will continue to confront Abdul-Khaliq, but this is nothing new to the young quarterback. Abdul-Khaliq's ability to overcome adversity has enabled him to become the talented, versatile quarterback he is today, and also the mature man his coach, and teammates have watched grow.
