Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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"He goes off on tangents a little bit, so we have to reel him in a little bit, and he'll do that in front of the group — and that's fine because he's comfortable in front of the group," Kelly said. "He's developing and he's on track to do the things necessary to be the kind of leader that you need to be at Notre Dame at the quarterback position." Zaire doesn't deny that his enthusiasm can be a double-edged sword, but he'd prefer to be accused of having too much than not enough. "I wake up with a lot of energy," Zaire said. "I just love being out here, I love being at practice, I love being around these guys and doing the things neces- sary. … Coach Kelly will tell me if I'm doing a little too much, too much en- ergy. I need to calm it down a little bit, but I love coming out here and having intensity with these guys because that's something that people look toward. "If I keep my intensity levels up, I think we're going to have better prac- tices day in and day out. … My stand- point is just continuing to be that guy who can help uplift the team." In his sixth season at Notre Dame, Kelly has his first true dual-threat quar- terback. Golson was undeniably mo- bile and at his best in ad-lib situations when plays broke down, but with Zaire comfortable in the zone read more mo- tion can also now be done with running backs to help confuse defenses. Against LSU, Zaire was the top rusher with 22 carries for 96 yards, which Zaire's leadership qualities might be even more important than his skills as a dual-threat quarter- back. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA