Notre Dame football: Irish QB battle named a top one to watch
By Brad Weiss
The Notre Dame football team still has to figure out who will replace Ian Book this Fall, and it is one of the top QB battles in the country.
When it comes to the 2021 Notre Dame football team, there is a lot to worry about, but there is no bigger question mark than the one at quarterback. Sure, there is talent at the position, but heading into the 2021 campaign, no proven starter has emerged just yet.
Recently, Nick Bromberg and Sam Cooper of Yahoo Sports! put together a list of the top quarterback battles to watch, and it was no big surprise that the Notre Dame football program made the list. We have been talking about this battle since Jack Coan became a member of the Irish, and it is still a debate that is raging only one month before the season begins.
Coan currently is the favorite to win the job, but both Drew Pyne and Tyler Buchner are having preseasons good enough to be the starter as well. Pyne was the backup to Ian Book last year, and has experience in Tommy Rees’ system, while Buchner is a true freshman who has done nothing but turns heads since arriving on campus.
Notre Dame football needs to replace a legend in Ian Book
During the fourth round of the 2021 NFL Draft, the New Orleans Saints made Ian Book the first quarterback off the board on Day 3. Book, who is the all-time winningest quarterback in Irish history, will now begin to blaze a path at the pro level, but he leaves a gaping hole behind him in South Bend.
Coan is a proven player at the college level, leading Wisconsin to a Big Ten title game, and is a guy who does not make many mistakes. Pyne and Buchner have elite talent, and could be the future at the position, and the question is whether or not that future starts now.
Overall, this is a battle we will certainly be keeping our eye on over the next four weeks.
Interestingly enough, the first quarterback battle listed in the piece was the team that the Irish kick off their 2021 campaign against, the Florida State Seminoles. They are choosing between a proven winner at the collegiate level in McKenzie Milton, who must prove he is healthy after a devastating knee injury a few years back, and an electrifying playmaker in Jordan Travis.
Whoever gets that nod better be ready for a stout Notre Dame defense in Week 1.