Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BY LOU SOMOGYI J unior quarterback Malik Zaire has only one career start under his belt and has yet to play a full col- lege football game. However, he already is advanced and experienced in the ways of big-time college football. When asked after the opening prac- tice Aug. 7 whether there is relief about being the clear-cut starting quarterback rather than competing again with Ever- ett Golson, he couldn't help but chuckle. "Being a Notre Dame quarterback is never a clear-cut thing," he replied, recalling how Golson went from top- five Heisman contender through the first two months of last season to losing his starting job after the third. "Coach [Brian] Kelly does a great job of keeping it competitive and keeping us on our toes, knowing that anything can change at any moment. "You never know who is going to be the guy the next day, so I think that's always in the back of my mind." Routinely intense and emotional, Zaire saw the television cameras catch his tears of triumph at the end of the 31-28 Music City Bowl victory versus LSU, when he made his lone start and earned MVP honors. Information overload is another aspect Kelly is trying to monitor because he said Zaire has had a tendency to over think. He even was at this summer's Elite 11 in Oregon to expose himself to more information with former NFL quarterback and Super Bowl champion Trent Dilfer. "He has such a thirst for the game and wanting to know so much that we actu- ally have to slow him down a little bit," Kelly said. "He's somebody that loves the game and wants to be around the game all the time. Sometimes you worry about him in that sense, that he's got too much information. There are a lot of phi- losophies out there. … We at times have to pull him back a little bit. "We really sometimes have to just get him focused on this simple phrase: 'Do it this way all the time.' There is no other way to do it. Don't vary from this — and he's getting better at that." According to the Irish head coach, Zaire possesses innate leadership quali- ties, but better clarity in presenting the message is needed because he can be- come overly emotional. ENERGY EFFICIENCY Malik Zaire's emotion and intensity are assets he is trying to harness