Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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62 MAY 2019 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED T here have been at least two patterns at quarterback in head coach Brian Kelly's first nine seasons at Notre Dame. One, the backups have had a tendency to steal the show in the Blue-Gold Game. Either that, or whatever positive or negative occurs to them in that end-of-spring scrimmage be- comes the opposite that follow- ing season. Two, for whatever reasons, the second year as a starting quarterback has been a jinx. This spring, senior starter Ian Book and sophomore backup Phil Jurkovec just might be go- ing against the grain. But first, a little history: • In Kelly's debut year (2010), the standout in the Blue-Gold Game was walk-on Nate Mon- tana, whose 18 completions for 223 yards with three touchdowns helped beat starter Dayne Crist, 27-19. • A year later, Andrew Hendrix was the best among the four QB pros- pects in the spring game when he had the top passing numbers and also ran for 15- and 10-yard touchdowns, while leading his team to a 17-14 win. • In 2014, backup Malik Zaire made numerous jaw-dropping throws and finished 18-of-27 passing for 292 yards with two touchdowns, while starter Everett Golson was a more ho- hum 13-of-23 passing for 160 yards and having an issue with accuracy. • In 2015, it was not so much about who did what, but who didn't do anything. While Golson-Zaire contin- ued their battle for the starting spot, sophomore-to-be DeShone Kizer clearly established himself as transfer material. He was 1-of-5 passing for three yards in the game, and began to seriously assess whether he should take up pitching in baseball instead. So naturally … it's Kizer who sta- tistically had the greatest sophomore year ever by a Notre Dame quar- terback that fall, including the sixth highest pass efficiency rating overall in a campaign. A year later, he would become a second-round draft pick. • In 2017, Brandon Wimbush was the clear, anointed starter, while less heralded three-star recruit Book was the definite backup. But it was Book's team that defeated Wimbush's 27-14, with the rising sophomore complet- ing 17 of 22 passes for 277 yards with a score, whereas Wimbush tossed two interceptions and was "touch- sacked" seven times. Part two of "the patterns" is that year two as a starting quarterback has been almost like a curse. Crist lost his starting position by game one in 2011, and then 2011 starter Tommy Rees in turn was sup- planted in 2012 by Everett Golson — who then was ineligible in 2013. When Golson did return in 2014, he scuffled the final month and saw Zaire start ahead of him in the Mu- sic City Bowl victory, which helped prompt Golson to become a graduate transfer at Florida State in 2015. Kizer then had to take over for an injured Zaire by game two in 2015 and was marvelous — only to expe- rience a dreadful 4-8 season in year two (2016). Wimbush was the anointed new starter in 2017 and led the offense to 41.3 points per game during an 8-1 start, but by the fourth game in year two (2018), Book replaced him as the starter, thereby encouraging Wim- bush to become a graduate transfer at Central Florida this year. Thus, "the patterns" in 2019 were clear: Jurkovec was go- ing to dominate the Blue-Gold Game, and then Book — follow- ing a sterling debut in 2018 — would falter in year two as the starter. Then again, maybe not. Book starred in the Blue-Gold Game against mostly the top defense, while Jurkovec struggled — a la Kizer in 2015. "One's on advanced calculus, the other one is still getting past algebra right now," third-year Fighting Irish offensive coordi- nator Chip Long said two days before the Blue-Gold Game. "Phil's going to be a great player, but it's going to take time, just like with all of them. … Ian's been doing it for three years. "He knows the offense really well. He's brought really good, steady leadership. He's not a vocal guy, but he walks with great confidence, and you can see that with his play." Book was challenged throughout the spring by Long to test his arm more downfield to help raise the of- fense to "next level" status. Overall, Long has been encouraged by the progress, but keeps it in context. "You can't really tell in practice — I want to see it on game day," Long said. "I want to see it when we're playing elite teams. But [Book's] chal- lenging himself. "There hasn't been a fear. He's turned it loose, had some good throws, had some bad throws ... but you've got to push yourself to [get out of a comfort zone] to be consid- ered an elite quarterback." With the more heralded Jurkovec, it's about honing his accuracy and getting his mind right. "I'm not worried about Phil. … It's just the timing and the speed of the game he has to get used to," Long said. Patterns can still be broken for the better, and will need to be for both. ✦ Will 2019 Break 'The Patterns' At Quarterback? THE FIFTH QUARTER LOU SOMOGYI Senior Editor Lou Somogyi has been at Blue & Gold Illustrated since July 1985. He can be reached at lsomogyi@blueandgold.com Senior Ian Book is not only looking to string together two consecu- tive strong seasons as Notre Dame's starter, but to also put himself in the class of elite quarterbacks in 2019. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA