IN THE TRENCHES ANDREW OWENS
I
n the past, Malik Zaire's endless
supply of confidence has been a
double-edged sword for Notre
Dame.
Every program wants its signal-
caller to trust his talent as well as the
abilities of those placed around him.
But there's a saturation point with the
positives that come about from confi-
dence.
The left-handed starting quarterback
won't shy away from the bright lights
or immense pressures that come with
his position. But in the past, he felt a
little too free to speak his mind with
the media.
"What do you think?" head coach
Brian Kelly replied with a grin when
asked if he has had to have conversa-
tions with Zaire about the responsi-
bilities of being the face of the pro-
gram.
"He has to be very careful when he
does articles in the newspaper and
talks about the past and things of that
nature.
"It's not a one-man show. It clearly
is important that he's a spokesman in
a lot of ways of not only himself per-
sonally, but the football team that he
represents."
That football team, brimming with
expectations that call for the Irish to
finish at least 10-2 this season and
Malik Zaire's
Confidence Stands Out
Zaire is the face of the program now that he is Notre Dame's unquestioned starter at quarterback.
PHOTO BY JOE RAYMOND
