Notre Dame football: Could Jack Coan make the Colts Week 1 roster?

The Notre Dame football program got great play from Jack Coan last season, and he is off to a solid start to his NFL career.

After Ian Book was drafted in the 2021 NFL Draft, the Notre Dame football program was left without a starting quarterback for the 2021 college football season. To replace Book, the Irish had a few options, including a true freshman in Tyler Buchner, who will be the team’s starting quarterback this Fall.

However, after not playing his senior year of high school, Buchner was not ready to handle the duties in Year 1, and instead, the Irish turned to a graduate transfer in Jack Coan. A former starter at Wisconsin, where he led the Badgers to a Big Ten title game, Coan stepped right in as a leader on and off the field and had a terrific season in South Bend.

When it came time for the 2022 NFL Draft, despite his strong season for the Notre Dame football team, and a solid pre-draft process, Coan would go undrafted. Still, he made his way to the NFL via being an undrafted free agent, landing with the Indianapolis Colts.

During his first preseason with the Colts, he has flashed some of the magic we saw last year for the Irish, and even connected on his first NFL touchdown pass on Saturday against the Detroit Lions.

Could the former Notre Dame football QB crack the Colts roster?

This preseason, Coan has completed 8-of-16 passes for 83 yards and a score, all the while playing as one of our quarterbacks on the Colts roster. Matt Ryan is locked in as the starter, and Nick Foles is the likely backup, so where does that leave Coan in terms of making the initial 53-man roster?

Coan is currently battling it out with Sam Ehlinger for the No. 3 job, but even then, it is no guarantee the Colts are going to keep three signal-callers on the roster. No matter what happens, however, Coan is showing he belongs at the NFL level, and plenty of teams would come calling if he is cut by Indianapolis.

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Of course, Coan could end up being put on the practice squad, especially if he continues to play the way he did on Saturday. He has always made the most of every opportunity he was given, and it is clear he is making the most of his time in Indianapolis as well.