Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2012 Notre Dame Football Preview
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BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2017 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ✦ 45 QUARTERBACKS NOTABLE DATA According to the Football Outsiders advanced metric S&P, the 2016 Notre Dame first-quarter offense was No. 1 in the country, but No. 56 in both the second and third quarter — and No. 96 in the fourth quarter. That helps explain losing five games last year while leading in the final quarter, and falling in a sixth with the score tied. More telling was: • DeShone Kizer was phenomenal in the first quarter with a 72.3 completion percentage and a gaudy 10.89 yards per pass attempt. • By the second quarter the numbers fell to 57.9 percent and 7.97 yards per attempt, and 57.0 percent and 7.73 in the third quarter. • In the fourth quarter, Kizer completed only 48.2 percent of this throws and amassed a pal- try 5.74 yards per attempt (nearly half less than the first quarter). QUOTABLE: QUARTERBACKS COACH TOM REES ON JUNIOR BRANDON WIMBUSH'S MATURITY: "These are teaching and learning moments for him — it's his first time taking a significant amount of reps. He understands all that. He has much more of a calm demeanor than I probably had. "He's great with the guys and lifting them up. He's not a huge rah-rah guy, but he has a great presence that guys really respect." 2016 VS. 2017: STOCK UP OR DOWN? On paper, it is down this year. However, in 2016 Notre Dame's QB situation was deemed as strong as any in the land with junior DeShone Kizer and senior Malik Zaire. Kizer entered the season as an 11-game starter and went on to be a second-round pick in the NFL Draft this past spring, while Zaire was marvelous in his two lone full starts (victories versus LSU in the 2014 Music City Bowl and Texas in the 2015 season opener). Yet the indecision at the outset of last season of who to start might have negatively affected the team. This year the QB situation is far less proven, but a clear pecking order with junior Brandon Wimbush at the top and much more experience around him could make it improved. X-FACTOR Former three-star prospect and sophomore Ian Book arrived relatively unheralded compared to Wimbush, Kizer and Zaire, who were all four-star figures. Neverthe- less, Book — who originally committed to Mike Leach's aerial show at Washington State — made a good impression in the Blue-Gold Game, complet- ing 17 of 22 passes for 277 yards with a score, although mainly against a reserve defense. The California native needs to be ready the way freshman Tommy Rees was for an injured Dayne Crist in 2010, and the way Kizer was in place of an injured Zaire in 2015. FRESHMAN OUTLOOK Unless there is a transfer, ineligibility or a rash of injuries, Avery Davis should become the sixth Fighting Irish QB recruit in the past seven years to redshirt. He would join Everett Golson (2011), Gunner Kiel (2012, before transferring to Cin- cinnati), Malik Zaire (2013), DeShone Kizer (2014) and Book (2016). Wimbush in 2015 was the exception be- cause Zaire suffered a season-ending injury in game two, and the staff was forced to get him ready at No. 2 behind Kizer. With Kizer and Zaire both back in 2016, the redshirt season then was used on Wimbush. DID YOU KNOW? New quarterbacks coach Tom Rees, who started 31 games at Notre Dame from 2010-13, is the youngest full-time on-field position coach hired at his alma mater since 1978. Rees turned 25 on May 22. In 1978, head coach Dan Devine hired former Irish player and 23-year-old Gene Smith to coach the junior varsity. Smith is cur - rently the director of athletics at Ohio State. The closest to Rees' age since then was an- other Notre Dame graduate, 26-year-old Skip Holtz (now the head coach at Louisiana Tech), who in 1990 was hired as the receivers coach by his father Lou. Rees also is the sixth different quarter- backs coach at Notre Dame in the last nine seasons. His predecessors were Ron Powlus (2009), Charley Molnar (2010-11), Chuck Mar- tin (2012-13), Matt LaFleur (2014) and Mike Sanford (2015-16). Molnar, Martin and Sanford all took head coaching positions. SCHOLARSHIP PLAYERS (4) Listed after the class year is the years of eligi- bility remaining. 7 Brandon Wimbush (6-1½, 226), Jr./3 12 Ian Book (6-0, 205), So./4 4 Montgomery VanGorder (6-1, 217), Sr./2 13 Avery Davis (5-11, 185), Fr./4 No quarterback on this year's roster took a snap at quarterback last year. Wimbush had 27 snaps as a 2015 freshman, 22 of them during a 62‑27 blowout of UMass. Junior Brandon Wimbush played 27 snaps as a freshman and was redshirted last year behind veterans DeShone Kizer and Malik Zaire, but now he is the undisputed starter for the Irish. PHOTO BY RICK KIMBALL