Malik Zaire (8) will battle DeShone Kizer for the starting quarterback roll this summer. Damien Dennis/The Pit
Tuesday, the Maxwell Football Club released it’s watch list for the 2016 Maxwell Award, given to the the country’s top football player. On the list were two familiar names: Malik Zaire and DeShone Kizer.
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish have potentially the best quarterback club in the country with Zaire and Kizer, while Brandon Wimbush brings up the year. But with 60 or so days before the season opener at Texas, we are still no closer to knowing who will lead the offense in 2016.
Notre Dame avoided the quarterback battle in 2015 after Everett Golson transferred to Florida State, leaving the reigns for Zaire. In the season opener against Texas, Zaire had arguably one of the best single-game performances of any Irish quarterback, completing 19-of-22 pass attempts for 313 yards. In game two at Virginia, Zaire was hurt and didn’t see action again for the rest of the year.
From there, Kizer stepped in and the offense evolved around him, with the then-freshman having a better year than most expected. Not known for being much of a runner, Kizer put up 143 yards on the ground against Temple, just three yards short of the school’s quarterback record, set by Bill Etter in 1969.
Kizer finished the season 211-of-335 for 2,884 yards, 21 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He gained an additional 520 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground.
If you listen to Upon Further Review, a few shows back you would have heard Evan Thomas and I discuss our thoughts on the quarterback battle at Notre Dame. While we both want to see Kizer earn the starting nod, we disagreed on who would actually get it.
I leaned towards Zaire, for those wondering.
Fast forward to this past Saturday when The Pit received it’s copy of the 2016 Phil Steele College Football Preview magazine. In Phil’s Notre Dame section, he has DeShone Kizer projected as starting quarterback, while also calling this situation one of the true quarterback battles in the country this year.
So, who do we think is going to win the role for the Irish?
First, let’s get this out of the way. Despite having perhaps the better arm of the three, Wimbush is least likely to get the starting nod. He appeared in two games last year, but has yet to see true game time. It’s speculated he may redshirt in 2016, saving his eligibility and giving him a chance to learn under his coaches and teammates.
Making the case for Zaire
On Upon Further Review, I discussed why I thought Zaire would get the starting role, and I will reiterate here.
Malik Zaire has only seen action as a starter in two and a half games (Music City Bowl against LSU, Texas and Virginia). After going down with the injury, there were those thinking the season would be a bust. Many expected great things from Zaire, and we’ve yet to see more than a nibble of that.
Eventually, Notre Dame adopted the mantra of “next man up,” but we’ve yet to see a proper sampling of a Zaire-led Irish football team. Zaire is a dangerous runner, capable of alluding opponents and turning on the drop of a dime.
And he’s worked on his passing game, too. He finished his season with 26-of-40 completions made for 428 yards and four touchdowns. That’s impressive, given we saw Zaire for a game and a half in 2015 – he rushed for 103 yards.
Let’s also not forget that Zaire is a senior this year. While there is no union – seniority doesn’t matter, unfortunately – I feel coach Brian Kelly will show some loyalty to the senior. As mentioned above, we haven’t seen what Zaire has got and Kelly may want to give us that sight.
Kelly wouldn’t make this decision, however, unless he didn’t think he could win with Zaire. Zaire could help the Irish be a team on the cusp of the playoff picture, but not quite in the talk.
When I watch Zaire play, I have flashbacks of Everett Golson in 2014. Golson started the year hot, but fell off halfway through – not all of it on him. This lead to Golson being pulled in that 49-14 USC game in favor of Zaire, who ended up starting the Music City Bowl also that bowl season.
I see shades of Golson’s style in Zaire and fear we could see a similar collapse, though I’d mostly expect a 9-3 season.
DeShone Kizer (14) lead the Irish in 2015, but will he earn the starting nod over senior Malik Zaire? Damien Dennis/The Pit
Making the case for Kizer
Kizer still has three years of playing time left, so if Kelly goes with Zaire, we know we’re in for a bright future. Even if he does end up having to wage more position battles with Wimbush.
But the sophomore seems like a better overall choice in 2015 to lead the Irish. Notre Dame has just four returning offensive starters, but a handful of those guys have seen big-time action, primarily under Kizer.
Last year, the offense formed around the kid, giving the sense that this was his team. He had some areas that needed work, but Kelly often explained just how passionate and drive Kizer was to learn from mistakes and not make them again.
Kizer is at his best in the pocket, making him an effective passer. He has precision and strength behind him whereas at times it feels Zaire has strength but kind of just lobs the ball up.
He finished 2015 with 2,884 yards passing while also putting his critics to shame with an additional 520 yards on the ground. In all, Kizer had 31 touchdowns.
With Kizer leading the charge, you could expect to see a playoff team. Kizer is the better passer and while Zaire is more dangerous on the ground, Kizer can channel his ability on the ground to be just as effective. I expect Notre Dame to have a 11-1 season if Kizer is chosen.
At this point, it’s unlikely Brian Kelly and his coaching staff likely knows who will be starting for Notre Dame. Fall camps will begin in roughly a month, and a simple mistake or an amazing day on the practice field could put one guy over another.
Either way, Irish fans have a bright future ahead of them with this lineup of potential Heisman and Maxwell winning quarterbacks.
Notre Dame will open the season on the road at Texas on Sunday, September 4. Their first home game will be September 10 against Nevada. Stick with The Pit, as we’ll be covering EVERY Irish home game for our third year – from the press box and from the field.
