Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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2015 RECRUITING ISSUE he enrolls at Notre Dame in June, Han- sen believes he has not yet approached his ceiling as a signal-caller. "I think whatever it is, he's a bit away from it and that's amazing be- cause he's done some truly remarkable things," the coach said. "You have a kid who's 17 years old who has such a tremendous athletic upside in terms of his size and speed a n d s t r e n g t h . I think all of those things are enhanced by being at Notre Dame in the com- ing years and the maturation process with the ability to go develop in the program like that. "He's got a great upside, and I think m o re t h a n a n y - thing else he's go- ing to work really hard to realize that potential. And that's the key at the next level: You've got to be willing to work." Currently, Notre Dame carries three scholarship quarterbacks on its ros- ter, not including Montgomery Van- Gorder, the son of defensive coordi- nator Brian VanGorder, whom the Irish placed on scholarship last fall. Senior Everett Golson is enrolled at Notre Dame this semester and will participate in spring practice, but if he graduates in May he would be eligible to leave and immediately play else- where. Sophomore Malik Zaire helped the Irish topple LSU in the Music City Bowl. The Irish also have DeShone Kizer, who redshirted as a freshman last season. With that trio currently on the ros- ter, Wimbush will be able to redshirt in 2015 and use the season as a learning experience with a possible job com- petition in 2016. Hansen expects his former quarterback to be an early con- tributor in South Bend once he tran- sitions to major col- lege football. "If he applies the things he learned here and contin- ues to develop and grow and contin- ues to work hard, I think he'll be able to contribute on some level some- what early," Hansen said. "There's a learning curve that's going to take place and a comfort level that he has to experience. We've had guys who I thought would take a couple years and it didn't, and there were guys I thought would contribute right away and it took two years. Each player is different. "It's going to be a wait and see for me personally, but he's as developed as a high school quarterback can be at this stage of his game. It's going to be interesting." ✦ BGI FILM ANALYSIS: BRANDON WIMBUSH Strengths Displays excellent arm strength … Has the ability to make college-level throws … Is ath- letic and can throw on the run, but at the same time has an unparalleled pocket pres- ence … Will work through his progressions and not lock on a target down the field … Footwork is quick and he covers a lot of ground with his drop backs … Likes to plant his feet to make a throw. Areas For Improvement Doesn't have the shortest release … Is mo- bile, but not the most physical when running the ball … Can loft balls into coverage at times … Will throw some sidearm passes … Doesn't engage body on every throw.