Notre Dame football: Jack Coan was better than advertised for the Irish
By Brad Weiss
The Notre Dame football team brought in Jack Coan as a graduate transfer for the 2021 college football season, and he was better than advertised.
Last season, the Notre Dame football team had the luxury of Ian Book being their starting quarterback, a signal-caller who won more games as the starter in South Bend than any other quarterback in program history. Book led the Irish to two College Football Playoff appearances, and while the team did not have success in the final four, he put together a stellar career at Notre Dame.
Going into the 2021 college football season, the Irish had a big decision to make in terms of who would replace Book as the starting quarterback. They had Drew Pyne on the roster, Book’s backup last season, and also Tyler Buchner, a highly-touted true freshman with the ability to get the job done with his arm and his legs.
Unfortunately for Buchner, he did not get to play his senior season of high school due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so he was coming in a bit raw. To make up for the lack of depth, the Irish added graduate transfer Jack Coan, a player who had led Wisconsin to a Big Ten title game a few years back.
Coan ended up winning the job, proving to be a leader of this program from the second he stepped on campus, and in his first start, threw for more passing yards than any other quarterback in his Notre Dame debut.
Notre Dame football navigates a roller coaster season
From there, the Irish would have their struggles, barely getting past Purdue and Toledo before losing to Cincinnati at home. However, after the bye week, the Irish would get it going, as they revamped their offensive line, giving Coan the time he needed to operate this offense.
From the Virginia Tech game on, Coan became one of the more consistent quarterbacks in the country, displaying the kind of talent that made Wisconsin a power in the Big Ten with him under center. Working in tandem with Buchner, Coan and this offense rolled across the final five games, setting the stage for them to possibly make a College Football Playoff appearance.
In his final game with the Irish, Coan will have a chance to end their drought in terms of big-time bowl games, and Playoff appearances. Based on what we have seen from him this season, he should be up for the challenge, capping a season where he not only came in and filled a void but was way better than advertised.