Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com PRESEASON 2021 31 2019 games and entered 2020 as the starter before a foot injury essentially wiped out his season. His ailment opened the door for sophomore Gra- ham Mertz — the highest-ranked quarterback recruit Wisconsin has ever signed — to filch the start- ing job. He kept it even amid some bumps. Coan, in turn, entered the transfer portal to find a better op- portunity to start in his final college season. Notre Dame offered exactly that. Its other four quarterbacks have thrown a combined seven passes. But Coan still had to earn the job. "This was a clean slate," Rees said. "We did not lean on past experiences or anything of that sort. This was a clean slate when Jack came." The Irish needed to replace Book, who left with a 30-5 record as Notre Dame's all-time winningest quarter- back and led them to a pair of Col- lege Football Playoff appearances. He ranks second in program history in several career passing statistical categories. Coan threw for 2,727 yards with 18 touchdowns and five interceptions as Wisconsin's starter in 2019. He com- pleted 69.6 percent of his passes and averaged 8.0 yards per attempt. The Badgers went 10-4, won the Big Ten West Division title and played in the Rose Bowl. Wisconsin's 2019 offense centered around 2,000-yard rusher Jonathan Taylor, who had just 19 fewer carries (320) than Coan had pass attempts (339). The Badgers ran the ball on more than half of their offensive plays. Coan piloted an efficient at- tack that ranked 29th nationally in yards per play (6.3) and fifth in the Fremeau Efficiency Index (FEI). But Wisconsin was largely a quick- strike, short-throw offense in 2019. Coan threw deep (20 or more yards downfield) on just 9.4 percent of his pass attempts, per Pro Football Fo- cus, a figure that placed him 109th out of 113 Football Bowl Subdivision quarterbacks with at least 30 down- field attempts. His average depth of target (7.5 yards) was 77th out of 80 quarterbacks who dropped back at least 350 times. When Coan did throw deep, he was often successful. His 50 percent completion rate ranked sixth nation- ally. How that will translate to Notre Dame's offense isn't yet totally clear. His responsibilities in the Irish's of- fense will be different than those he had in Wisconsin's. But it's clear Notre Dame trusts him to lead the offense. And clearly Coan feels he belongs in the role, no matter what his Wisconsin stat line or job duties might say. "I don't know exactly what 'game manager ' equates to," Coan said, referring to a common Wisconsin quarterback stereotype. "I mean, it sounds good. I feel like it's a guy that protects the football, keeps the team in good situations, is great situation- ally, throws a lot of completions — I feel like that's all good stuff." In tabbing Coan as its starting quarterback, Notre Dame replaces one fifth-year senior with another. That class designation carries leader- ship expectations, which Coan has met since arriving. He was a Spring/ Summer Workout Accountability Team (SWAT) captain for offseason workouts. He was one of 20 players who director of sports performance Matt Balis named an "ultimate war- rior" at the end of summer condition- ing drills. "He's seen by his peers as a war- rior," Kelly said. "Somebody that is on time for every workout. Is there. Is committed. You can count on him. He's a guy who you want lined up next to you in the foxhole." CENTER STAGE Kelly settled another mystery on the first day of camp. Senior Jarrett Patterson trotted out with the first-team offense at center Joe Wilkins Jr. is part of a quartet of senior wide receivers who had a "transformational" offseason according to head coach Brian Kelly. Wilkins led all receivers and tight ends in points accumulated in the Irish's offseason workout program. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS "He's seen by his peers as a warrior. Somebody that is on time for every workout. Is there. Is committed. You can count on him. He's a guy who you want lined up next to you in the foxhole." HEAD COACH BRIAN KELLY ON JACK COAN