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Notre Dame Football: Hopes for Book and Jurkovec in the Blue and Gold Game

By Paul Walsh

ARLINGTON, TEXAS - DECEMBER 29: The Notre Dame Fighting Irish cheerleaders take the field before the game against the Clemson Tigers during the College Football Playoff Semifinal Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic at AT&T Stadium on December 29, 2018 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - DECEMBER 29: The Notre Dame Fighting Irish cheerleaders take the field before the game against the Clemson Tigers during the College Football Playoff Semifinal Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic at AT&T Stadium on December 29, 2018 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
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Notre Dame
CHAPEL HILL, NC – OCTOBER 07: Ian Book /

Ian Book: Completing Passes Downfield

Ian Book’s claim to fame was his accuracy throughout the course of the 2018 season. He completed 68.2% of his passes. This was good enough for eighth nationally. His ability to complete a high percentage of his passes was matched by his ability to get rid of the ball quickly. And while he should not be characterized as a pure runner, he did display a capacity to make the quick decision to scamper about and extend plays. We should expect to observe these attributes from last season when Book takes the field on Saturday.

Perhaps the biggest area for improvement to look for in Ian Book is his ability to throw the ball vertically downfield. Book struggled in this part of the game last season. He averaged 8.4 yards per pass attempt. And as one thinks back to plays made by Book last season, it is hard not to have one’s mind dominated with images of throws in the 5-10 yard range. Book did miss a multiplicity of throws in the 20+ range last year both in overthrowing and/or in not seeing the opportunities downfield as he attempted to get rid of the ball, make the high percentage throw, and keep the chains moving.

In a recent press conference,  Brian Kelly mentioned seeing improvement in this area but wanting “a bit more air” on these throws downfield, mentioning also that these types of throws seemed “flat” coming from Book last season. It would be a great sign of progress to see Book more comfortable with these downfield throws during the spring game.

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