Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/114977
Under the Dome Ironically, on the same day news of Kiel���s impending transfer broke, Kelly told the South Bend Tribune about his philosophy of creating competition within the ranks. ���I���m going to recruit somebody to beat you out. And they know that coming in,��� Kelly said. ���So if you���re a quarterback and you don���t think I���m going to bring in Malik Zaire to beat you out, then you need to transfer. ��� if you���re a bit uneasy about the situation, then I welcome Successful Moves your transfer. ������ If the program���s humming and it���s doing it the right way, you���re going to have some transfers, because you���re building competition within the ranks. And it���s always going to be that way.��� With his plans to transfer to another school this spring, freshman Gunner Kiel would become the 21st quarterback at Notre Dame since the 1977 national title campaign to switch to another school. Three of the previous 20 went on to the NFL, while a couple of others had sensational college careers. Chronologically, here are the five best former Notre Dame quarterbacks who experienced success elsewhere: 1. Randy Wright ��� He transferred to Wisconsin following his freshman year in 1979-80 and became a star for the Badgers. He was the starter for the Green Bay Packers from 1986-88. 2. Ken Karcher ��� Late in his sophomore year in 1982, he started in place of an injured Blair Kiel versus Penn State and Air Force (both losses). Karcher then transferred to Tulane and became an NFL backup for John Elway at Denver in 1987-88. 3. Kent Graham ��� Ranked as the No. 1 high school QB in Jake Kelchner ��� who enrolled the same many circles back in 1986, Graham rotated with Tony Rice in year as the nation���s No.�� 1 QB prospect, 1987 after starter Terry Andrysiak was injured. Graham backed Rick Mirer ��� transferred to West Virginia up Rice during the 1988 national title run, but in 1989 he trans- University, where he led the nation in ferred to Ohio State, where he started in 1991. He was an NFL passing efficiency while guiding the Mountaineers to an 11-0 regular season journeyman from 1992���2002 while making 38 career starts. 4. Jake Kelchner ��� He enrolled the same year as the na- in 1993. photo courtesy Notre Dame media relations tion���s No. 1 QB prospect (Rick Mirer), experienced academic problems and transferred to West Virginia. In 1993, he led the nation in passing efficiency while guiding the Mountaineers to an 11-0 regular season. Like Kevin McDougal that same year at Notre Dame, however, he wasn���t deemed an NFL prospect. 5. Zak Kustok ��� Entered his sophomore year in 1998 as the No. 3 QB behind Jarious Jackson and Eric Chappell, but he left during training camp when freshman Arnaz Battle leapfrogged him. Kustok enjoyed a sensational career at Northwestern, passing for nearly 6,000 yards and leading the Wildcats to a share of the Big Ten title in 2000. ��� Lou Somogyi