Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2019 Notre Dame Football Preview
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BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2019 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ✦ 47 QUARTERBACKS NOTABLE DATA The highest ranking of an opposing pass ef- ficiency defense that Ian Book faced during the 2018 regular season was Syracuse at No. 47 in the 11th game. The top pass defense the Irish confronted was Michigan (finished seventh, one behind Notre Dame) in the opener, but Brandon Wimbush was the quarterback at the time. College Football Playoff opponent Clem- son finished 15th. The eight others Book faced ranked anywhere from 55th (Stanford) to 117th (Navy), with five of them lower than No. 69. Notre Dame opens this season with Louisville, which was 120th in pass efficiency defense last year among 129 teams, and New Mexico, which was 103rd. The next two games, against Georgia and Vir- ginia, will present much greater challenges. The Bulldogs were 29th in pass efficiency defense last year, while the Cavaliers were 12th. DID YOU KNOW? Ian Book's 154.0 passing efficiency rating in 2018 was the highest in head coach Brian Kelly's nine seasons with the Fighting Irish, sur - passing DeShone Kizer's 150.1 as a sophomore in 2015 during a 10-3 campaign. Book finished 17th nationally with this figure, highlighted by a school-record 68.15 comple - tion percentage, which broke the previous stan- dard of 68.0 set by Jimmy Clausen in 2009, prior to turning pro after his junior season. Book's 147.3 career passing efficiency rat - ing is third on the all-time Fighting Irish chart, behind Kevin McDougal's 156.7 from 1990-93 and Kizer's 147.7 in 2015-16. In fourth place is Jarious Jackson (1996-99) at 145.7. SCHOLARSHIP PLAYERS (3) Listed after the class year is the years of eligi- bility remaining. 12 Ian Book (6-0, 208), Sr./2 15 Phil Jurkovec (6-5, 225), So./4 — Brendon Clark (6-2, 210), Fr./4 2018 VS. 2019: STOCK UP OR DOWN? There is no doubt the stock is up at starting quarterback. For all of Brandon Wimbush's brilliance as a runner in 2017, his late-season decline and inconsistency throwing the ball kept the offense from reaching its full potential. Ian Book brought much-needed consistency to the 2018 passing attack, averaging 306.9 yards per game via the air in his eight regular season starts. If he can build on that performance and make more plays down the field, it will make the unit extremely difficult to defend because of his precision on short to me- dium throws and his ability to make plays with his legs. Depth is the primary concern right now, with sophomore Phil Jurkovec having played just 10 snaps in his first season and not closing well in this year's Blue-Gold Game. The Fighting Irish welcome freshman Brendon Clark to the depth chart this summer. X-FACTOR There is no disputing Jurkovec's talent, and dur- ing the spring he made a number of "wow" throws, showcasing the ability to power the ball to the side- line and get it over the top of any look. Jurkovec is also a dynamic runner who rushed for 2,942 yards and 43 touchdowns in his three seasons as a starter at Pine-Richland High School in Gibsonia, Pa. At issue for Jurkovec was his lack of consistency and tendency to beat himself up. Shoring up his release, making better decisions and staying confident will be essential to lock down the backup spot and give the Irish a highly skilled, albeit unproven, backup quarterback. FRESHMAN OUTLOOK Like Jurkovec when he was a senior, former Midlothian (Va.) Manchester quarterback Brendon Clark finished his prep career with a 15-0 record and a state championship. Clark com- plied 7,148 passing yards, 2,067 rushing yards and 119 total touchdowns in high school. Clark has a strong right arm and he's a qual- ity athlete, but like Jurkovec he will need time to improve his mechanics and get a feel for the Notre Dame system. QUOTABLE: KELLY ON HIGHLY TOUTED SOPHOMORE PHIL JURKOVEC NEEDING TO SETTLE DOWN AND PROGRESS GRADUALLY RATHER THAN PURSUE INSTANT GRATIFICATION: "He's pushing himself a little too hard, and he's a little too hard on himself. … He's got too much going on right now. He's just got to get the ball out of his hand and make it simpler. He never played like that in high school. He made it simple, and he's making this game way too hard. He'll wake up one day, and it will be a lot simpler for him. Right now, it's hard. We'll get him to the point where it's simple." Sophomore Phil Jurkovec has had his throwing motion tweaked several times, which led to some adjust- ments and a larger learning curve during the spring. PHOTO BY ANGELA DRISKELL