Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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6 NOV. 12, 2018 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY LOU SOMOGYI T here are many quarterbacks who can throw an accurate football, but a low football IQ or lack of composure might not reflect it. Others might possess a strong knowledge base and see the whole field and progressions well, but if the ball doesn't get to where it needs to go, that too might not show. When knowledge meets accuracy (along with mental toughness) … that's when you can get an Ian Book. Prior to 8-0 Notre Dame's game at Northwestern, the junior quarterback from El Dorado Hills, Calif., led the nation in completion percentage (76.5) and was seventh in pass efficiency (170.2 rating). The completion percentage was a hair off the NCAA-record 76.7 set by Texas' Colt McCoy in 2008, while the efficiency rating was ahead of Jimmy Clausen's school standard 161.4 set in 2009. In the 44-22 victory versus Navy Oct. 27, Book became the first Football Bowl Subdivision quarterback since Wis- consin's Russell Wilson in 2011 to win his first five starts in a season while completing at least 70.0 percent of his passes (Wilson did it in six straight). "It's something I pride myself with. I try to be as accurate as possible and put the ball through some small windows, mainly just try to get it to our playmakers," Book said. CONTINUED DEVELOPMENT Book completed 70.5 percent of his passes (244 of 346) his senior year at Oak Ridge High, but a six-foot frame and average arm strength resulted in a consensus three- star ranking with mainly mid-major schools pursuing him. Yet he was considered a prototype for pass-happy Mike Leach's attack at Washington State, where he origi- nally committed. When the Irish came up short on other prospects, then Irish quarterbacks coach Mike Sanford went after "Plan E" in Book as a potential fill-in between highly ranked quarter- backs Brandon Wimbush (2015) and Phil Jurkovec (2018). "I used it as a chip on my shoulder, just to be able to come in and shock some people," Book said of switching to the Irish. "It doesn't really bother me what anyone re- ally says and where you are in the rankings. "A lot of times the rankings don't really show what happened when you end up getting to college. It wasn't something I thought about too much, but I did use it to my motivation. "Every year Notre Dame and any college program gets a good quarterback … I knew I had to work hard every day and prepare like I'm the starter, and it would work itself out." Following a redshirt freshman season, Book had an up- and-down 2017 regular season as Wimbush's backup be- fore coming off the bench to complete 14 of 19 passes (73.7 percent) for 164 yards with two fourth-quarter touch- downs in the 21-17 win versus LSU in the Citrus Bowl. Yet it wasn't until the end of spring that head coach Brian Kelly believed Book began to "get it" when it came to mas- tering defensive looks. With little things like seeing the back- side safety drop down toward the line most of the spring, Book still called a run. Then in the spring game, three times he saw it and called and completed the backside slant. "It's just that repetitive process of sticking with it," Kelly said. "He just made that mistake three, four, five, six times. … He saw it, understands it now, and it's allowed him to run the offense effectively. "His understanding of the leverage points within the offensive structure in the run and pass game is what got him to the point where he became the starter." Versus Navy, his 22-yard touchdown pass on a fade to senior wideout Miles Boykin could have been either a run or pass play, but when Book saw one-one coverage on Boykin … "That's a three-foot putt for him," Kelly summarized. UNDER THE DOME PLAYING THE PERCENTAGES Knowledge combined with accuracy have Ian Book threatening the record books Going into the month of November, Book led the nation in completion per- centage (76.5) and was seventh in the country in passing efficiency (170.2) while displaying a knack for making quick decisions. PHOTO BY ANGELA DRISKELL