Notre Dame Spring Battles: Malik Zaire vs. Everett Golson
By Andrew Hall
Spring Practice will commence in less than a month. The biggest battle of the spring will be between Junior Quarterback Malik Zaire and Senior Quarterback Everett Golson.
Everett Golson played in all 13 games, compiling a 7-5 record as a starter. He threw for 3445 yards with 29 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. Golson completed 60.0% of his passes. He ran for 283 yards and 8 touchdowns.
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Malik Zaire played in 7 games, mostly as the holder on the field goal team. He started against LSU in the Music City Bowl. Overall, he threw 266 yards with 1 touchdown and 0 interceptions. Zaire rushed for 187 yards with 2 touchdowns. In the Music City Bowl, he completed 12 of 15 passes (80.0%) for 96 yards and 1 touchdown. Zaire also rushed for 96 yards and 1 touchdown.
The choice between Everett Golson and Malik Zaire may actually be a choice in type of offense. When Golson played, Kelly featured a pass-first Spread team. When Zaire played against LSU, Notre Dame used a run-first spread option team.
With Golson under center, Notre Dame’s best game occurred in the opener against Rice. The Irish rushed for 281 yards and passed for 295 yards. With Zaire at the helm, Notre Dame rushed for 263 yards and passed for 186 yards.
However, Rice and LSU are two very different teams. Rice allowed 477 yards against Power 5 teams. The Irish tallied 576 yards or 99 yards more than Rice’s average. LSU surrendered 344.1 yards per game. Notre Dame totaled 449 yards or about 105 yards more than LSU’s average.
The distance between Golson and Zaire is slim. Zaire appears like the choice because of his rushing skills and his leadership. However, can Zaire be trusted to throw the ball when the game is on the line? If Brian Kelly commits to run the ball, Golson would likely cut down on his turnovers. Turnovers aside, Golson has proven he can lead the team down the field with his arm in crunch time.
If Golson fails to win the battle by the end of Spring, there is a strong possibility that he will transfer to another schools. According to reports, 24 schools expressed interest in Golson.