Notre Dame Football: The puzzling case of quarterbacks under Brian Kelly

During Brian Kelly’s tenure as head coach of the Notre Dame football team, Irish quarterbacks have under-performed poorly in their second year as a starter.

When Brian Kelly took over as coach of the Notre Dame football team in 2010, it was inevitable that changes were coming. The pro-style offense was out the door in favor of the spread. Physical changes such as artificial turf were coming. But one that has constantly changed is the quarterback, especially quarterbacks entering year two of their tenure.

Who could forget the carousel of quarterbacks at the beginning of Kelly’s tenure?

In 2010, Kelly inherited Dayne Crist, who started for most of the 2011 season before suffering a ruptured patella tendon in a loss to Tulsa. From there, it was the Tommy Rees show. Rees started the final four games of the 2010 season for the Irish, winning all four of his starts.

Crist and Rees would battle for the starting spot before 2011, with Crist eventually edging Rees for the starting job ahead of the team’s first game against South Florida. However, Crist struggled and was yanked at halftime in favor of Rees, who took over for the rest of the season. This was the season that Rees became notorious for his turnovers.

And that’s when the real fireworks started. Hang with me here.

Rees’ suspension ahead of 2012 opened the door for Golson to be the starter. After all, Golson was more suited for the read option type of offense Kelly wanted to run. But Golson repaid the favor by getting suspended for 2013, once again paving the way for Rees.

When Golson returned in 2014, he seemed to pick up where he left off, but the wheels fell off mid-season, cracking the door for a new youngster, Malik Zaire. Golson eventually transferred to Florida State.

Zaire started 2015, but broke his ankle in the team’s second game at Virginia. DeShone Kizer entered and almost instantly became a top NFL prospect.

In 2016, a botched attempt at playing multiple quarterbacks probably played a part in Notre Dame’s lack of success. Eventually, Kizer won out the quarterback position and Zaire tranferred to Florida, while Kizer took his talents to the NFL.

Brandon Wimbush entered in 2017. While he had his moments, there were still questions about Wimbush’s ability to be a prolific passer. Still, the Irish rolled over opponents with a dominant offensive line. The big story, however, was that the backup, Ian Book, looked good in limited opportunities as a passer, most notably leading a comeback against LSU in the Citrus Bowl.

Finally, 2018 rolled around and Wimbush was named the starter, but many questioned the decision. After a couple lackluster games to start the season, Book took over as the starter and never looked back.

Still with me?

Entering 2019, the Irish have no questions at quarterback for basically the first time in Brian Kelly’s tenure. Many have criticized Kelly’s inability to develop a quarterback in year two as a starter, but most of those criticisms are largely unwarranted.

For the first time, the Irish have a signal-caller who is set in stone, with no one calling for the backup quarterback and no one questioning the abilities of the incumbent quarterback. In addition, Book has clearly won the respect of his teammates, as he was named a captain earlier this week.

It would be unwise to underestimate the impact having the incumbent starter back for basically the first time under Kelly. Among Irish fans, Book faces a litany of expectations. Nationally, he’s flying a little under the radar. Either way, the Irish quarterback position is in the best place its been since Brian Kelly took over in 2010.