Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2019 Notre Dame Football Preview
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52 ✦ BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2019 FOOTBALL PREVIEW offseason to answer those questions, to im- prove his game and to quiet his critics, right up to studying how the best in the business — NFL greats such as Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady — calmly operate in tight space and under intense pressure. "They know exactly what's going on," Book said of his takeaways after watching those future Hall of Famers. "They know the reads. They know where to go. They know where their guys are going to be. That's how you've got to do it." To Book's credit, when he replaced se- nior Brandon Wimbush as the Irish starter in week four, Notre Dame's scoring output jumped from 23.3 to 36.6 points per game — a substantial improvement. But for comparison sake against the other three College Football Playoff teams from last season, Oklahoma led the nation in scor- ing at 48.4 points a game, Alabama was sec- ond with 45.6 and Clemson fourth at 44.3, while Notre Dame finished a modest 41st at 31.4 points a game. "We weren't consistent and we weren't ex- plosive," Long said. "That caught up with us." And, despite having three NFL-hopeful receiving targets with Miles Boykin, Alizé Mack and Chase Claypool — all of whom stand at least 6-foot-4 — Book and Notre Dame managed only 12.5 yards per pass completion, the lowest figure since 2011. "I don't think last year we really scared anybody," Long succinctly surmised. By The Book Book is the first to admit he's not a rah- rah, in-your-face type of leader. He'll leave that boisterous style to others on the team. But he also understands that playing the most scrutinized position at the most in- spected program in the country inherently brings leadership responsibilities, and Irish head coach Brian Kelly insisted that being Notre Dame's undisputed QB1 through the entire offseason has Book better prepared for those duties. "He is a different leader than he was last year," Kelly said. "He was just a quarterback at Notre Dame last year. He's a leader in our program [this year]. That's a big difference." Book's evolution from backup to starter and from follower to leader became evident even from afar during spring ball in how he confidently carried himself on the field, in the huddle and on the sideline. "Ian's not a particular loud and vocal guy," Kelly explained, "but he's going to stand up when he needs to say something. He's done that a couple of times that he was asked to, and it resonates quite well." In an effort to perhaps accentuate and ac- celerate the necessary leadership skills to play the position, the Irish coaches appointed Book to one of the eight SWAT team cap- tainship roles in charge of directing offsea- son team workouts. "Definitely an area I want to improve at," Book said of becoming more assertive. "It's something that I've really just been testing myself to do, be a vocal leader. Let the guys hear who I am and always have someone to lean on." Leadership is truest when evolved organi- cally, and establishing a voice on the team takes longer for some players. But after a breakout 2018 when Book threw for 2,628 yards and 19 touchdowns Book threw for 2,628 yards and 19 touchdowns in nine starts while leading Notre Dame to its first-ever College Football Playoff appearance last season. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA