Abdul-Khaliq was a four-year letter winner with Minnesota and was a two-year captain. He started as a freshman in 2000, although he eventually split quarterback duties during his freshman and sophomore years with junior-college transfer Travis Cole, with Cole seeing the majority of playing time. In 2002, after Cole graduated, Abdul-Khaliq became the full-time starter as a junior in 2002 and helped lead the Gophers to an 8-5 record, topped off by a win over Arkansas in the Music City Bowl.