Notre Dame Football: Quarterbacks’ odds looking good
By Walt Kosin
Notre Dame football has a group of quarterbacks who appear to be some of the NCAA’s best.
Must Read: Let Josh Adams be boring
Notre Dame fans have known that Brandon Wimbush will be the starting quarterback this coming season when DeShon Kizer committed to the NFL Draft. Let’s look at Wimbush and the other Fighting Irish quarterbacks.
Brandon Wimbush is a former four-star recruit from St Peter’s Prep. in Teaneck, New Jersey. The red-shirt sophomore is 6’1” 225 lb. and has waited his turn to the Fighting Irish’s quarterback. Notre Dame got him to flip his commitment from Penn St.
Some remember that Wimbush played in the 2015 season due to Malik Zaire’s injury. He only got to play in two games, against UMass. and Pitt. It was during the UMass game that he showed his athleticism and speed as he ran 58 yards for a touchdown.
One thing Fighting Irish fans should know Wimbush is that in his two years at Notre Dame, the coaching staff has raved about his leadership and the significant amount of time he dedicates to watching film and working on the mental aspects of his position. Wimbush has a strong arm, which shows his great potential in the long passing game. Last year, Notre Dame coaches stated his arm was stronger than both Kizer and Zaire’s. His passing accuracy is equal to or better than his arm strength. These factors bode for Wimbush to have a very good first year as a started.
For Notre Dame fans who watched the Blue-Gold game, they noticed what was probably the best news of the game that Ian Book will be a very good backup to Wimbush. Book had a spectacular Blue-Gold game as he completed 17 of 22 passes for 277 yards. This included a 37 TD pass to C.J. Sanders.
Book was a three-star quarterback from Oak Ridge High School in El Dorado Hills, California. He is a 6’0” 200lb. dual-threat quarterback who was committed to Washington State, before he decided to sign with Notre Dame. While Notre Dame fans may have been surprised by Book’s performance including this writer, Brian Kelly stated that “I think you could point to his performance today and say it was a surprise: it wasn’t to me. He’s shown that. I thought he would go out and play really well. I’m glad he did”.
Martin Van Gorder, the son of the former defensive coordinator, is a walk-on who received a scholarship last year. He will be a senior. He holds the ball for extra points, and field goals tries. The final member of the Notre Dame quarterback group is rising freshmen Avery Davis. The 5’11” 190lb. dual-threat quarterback is a three-star recruit from Cedar Hill High School in Cedar Hill, Texas. In two years as a starter at Cedar Hill, Davis passed for 5,014 yards, rushed for 1,381 yards and accounted for 82 touchdowns. Hopefully, if there are no injuries to the quarterbacks, Davis will receive a red-shirt.
Although inexperienced, Brandon Wimbush leads the Fighting Irish offense this season. He is dual-threat quarterback, who has a strong, accurate arm and can run when he needs to. Let’s remember one very important fact about Brian Kelly. He is 20-4 when coaching a first-year quarterback. Everett Golson was 11-1 as a starter in 2012 (he missed one game due to injury). In 2015, after Malik Zaire was injured in the Texas game, DeShone Kizer lead Notre Dame to a 9-3 record. It’s hard to believe that Kelly’s two best seasons have been with rookie quarterbacks.
Next: 3 Defensive Stars to Expect This Season
Ian Book looks to be a better that average back-up based on his practices and performance in the Blue Gold Game. There are low expectations for the Fighting Irish this season, but as Kelly has shown in his two years with rookie quarterbacks, maybe the 2017 Fighting Irish will make it Kelly’s third team to win big with a rookie quarterback.