Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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UNDER THE DOME MALIK ZAIRE INSERTED AS NEW HOLDER After Notre Dame committed five turnovers in its 55-31 loss at Arizona State Nov. 8, calls for sophomore No. 2 quarterback Malik Zaire to take over as the starter became more rampant. Indeed, Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly announced three days later that Zaire would start the next game versus Northwestern … as the holder on field goals and extra points. The move was precipitated by a third dropped snap by walk-on junior holder Hunter Smith on a 32-yard field goal attempt in the second half when the Irish trailed 34-17. Smith had dropped two earlier in the year in the 17-14 win over Stanford in wet, chilly condi- tions when the snaps weren't ideal either. "Three is too many," Kelly said of the drops. "Can't take a fourth, so we're going to make a switch at that position." Football has become a much more specialized sport over the years. There are linebackers to stop the run, and others inserted for passing situations. There are running backs inserted to block, others to run, maybe others to catch. It's almost like going to a nose specialist doctor who said he does only left nostrils, not right. This has been true especially true in the kicking game. Once upon a time at Notre Dame (and football in general), the long snappers used to be starters at other positions, from guard Tim Grunhard in the 1980s to tight end Dan O'Leary in the 1990s. Holders on kicks used to be reserve quarterbacks or even starters such as Joe Theismann and Joe Montana at times in the NFL. All-American wideout Jeff Samardizja was the holder for the Irish less than a decade ago. Starting in 2009 with Jordan Cowart and continuing in 2012 with cur- rent junior Scott Daly, Notre Dame started awarding four-year scholar- ships to players whose lone role is long or short snapping, even though it had great success the years prior with walk-ons, including current NFL starter J.J. Jansen of the Carolina Panthers. The holder in recent years also has included walk-ons, including Smith — who started off as a long snapper — this year. The benefit is that the specialists can work exclusively on their craft in practice and not have to worry about taking reps on offense or defense in practices. However, three miscues in games exceeded Kelly's threshold. 2015 Notre Dame Football Packages Sept. 5 Texas Sept. 19 Georgia Tech Sept. 26 UMass Oct. 10 Navy Oct. 17 USC Nov. 14 Wake Forest A Notre Dame trip makes A GREAT GIFT: Birthday, Father's Day, Graduation, Christmas, Retirement All details at diamondtravel.com or call 602-870-9197 DIAMOND TRAVEL 27 years in business ND Golf BaG Blue & Gold Illustrated PO Box 2331 • Durham, NC 27702 1-800-421-7751 www.BlueGoldOnline.com Please add sales tax if shipping to: NC (7.5%), MI (6%), or IN (7%) Free dIVot tool set W/PURCHASE oF BaG! $21.95 Value! Item #6483 VICtORy CARt BAG New Item! $ 249 95 FREE S&H Zaire, a sophomore quarterback, was selected to be the new holder on field goals and extra points, starting with the contest versus Northwestern Nov. 15. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA