“Iowan” Max Brosmer gives Minnesota football team a passer it hasn’t had in years

There’s an Iowa connection. Always.

Quarterback Max Brosmer transferred to Minnesota for his final season of college football eligibility after an All-America FCS career at the University of New Hampshire. Somehow the kid originally made his way to the northeast from Roswell, Ga., of all places, where he lit it up in high school.

But back to having Hawkeye State ties. Believe it or not, he was born in Davenport.

“I don’t remember actually living there,” Brosmer said this week at Minnesota’s media availability. “I was born in Davenport, and we moved to Ohio after that. Me and Frank Bierman were born in the same hospital in Davenport, which is pretty cool. Completely different walks of life, then we find out we were born at Genesis (Medical Center).”

Bierman is a tight end for the Gophers who graduated from Tipton High School. Another Iowa tie.

Minnesota (2-1) hosts the Iowa Hawkeyes (2-1) on Saturday night at Huntington Bank Stadium in Minneapolis in the Big Ten Conference opener for both teams. Floyd of Rosedale is on the line.

“Yes, I have,” Brosmer said, when asked if he has seen the famous pig trophy. “When I visited here in January and December, I got to see it. It’s been on display now for the week.”

Minnesota needed a quarterback when Athan Kaliakmanis transferred to Rutgers after last season. Coach P.J. Fleck immediately targeted Brosmer, who passed for 8,713 yards and 70 touchdowns in 36 career games at UNH.

He led the FCS with 3,464 yards and was second in passing TDs (29) last season.

“I’ll just say the transfer portal is a wild new world,” Brosmer said this past spring. “I was kind of warned going into the portal how kind of crazy it gets, and I don’t think I understood the true depth of it until I got in. I was lucky enough to have some schools reach out pretty early when I got into the portal. I didn’t really know what to expect when I got in, and Minnesota was one of the first schools to do that. Once I saw Minnesota kind of come in, I thought that I might as well check it out.

“I had heard a lot about the program, a lot about Coach Fleck and the culture. That’s the kind of the player I am. I take value in culture and team, so I fell in love with the process and the culture and the team. I think I took off and ran with it. I can’t thank the staff and the team (enough) for taking me in that fast.”

Brosmer gives Minnesota something it hasn’t had in years: a QB with very good passing ability.

“First of all, you start with the intangibles. They're though the roof,” Fleck told Minnesota media in the spring. “That's the first thing you see when you meet him. I think any successful quarterback has to have that piece. You feel like he's already been here for 30 years.

“I've never seen a person walk into a situation ... and connect (with) as many people as quickly as he has."

Brosmer’s stats in three games with the Gophers are fairly modest. He has completed 53 of 77 passes for 627 yards and three touchdowns (to one interception).

But the kid has talent. And Iowa must beware of it.

“In Week 1, I think it was getting comfortable and filling those shoes,” Brosmer said. “And feeling like I’m part of the team as the starting quarterback. Now it’s developed where this team has completely changed in a good way. There’s stuff that we work on every single week that we’ve done a really good job of getting better at and completing the fixables that we talk about.

“For me as the quarterback, it’s about me staying with the team in rhythm, to make sure we’re progressing the same rate, and to do what is asked of us every single Saturday. And throughout the week, too.”

Minnesota co-offensive coordinator Greg Harbaugh Jr.’s advice to his signal caller Saturday?

“Throw it to the open guy,” Harbaugh said. “Every week trust what you see, go through your progressions. It’s fun with him because you can tweak different things each week. I’ve talked before about how intelligent he is and how well he can transition from one opponent to the next ...”

Comments: jeff.johnson@thegazette.com