Blue and Gold Illustrated

sachusetts team at home. Yet Kelly is game to utilize Wimbush's talents in some capacity so that all of the burden doesn't have to fall on Kizer. The 6-1, 216-pound Wimbush is a hybrid of Zaire and Golson. He's not quite as stout as Zaire. However, he is comfortable with the zone-read option elements, unlike Golson, rushing for 723 yards in 12 games last season for his St. Peter's Prep state title team in New Jersey. His arm strength does not take a back seat to anyone, and he challenged the national record in completion per- centage as a senior. He finished at 72.3 percent and passed for 3,187 yards with 37 touchdowns and only four interceptions. "He certainly doesn't have the whole playbook down at this point, but I think I'm moving more towards fine-tuning some things that could get him in for the games, regardless of the situation," Kelly said. Should Wimbush continue to thrive in his limited role, the quarterback intrigue in 2016 with a Zaire-Kizer- Wimbush competition would multi- ply. This spring, Kelly declared the Golson-Zaire tandem as one rivaled only by the peerless Ohio State trium- virate of J.T. Barrett, Cardale Jones and Braxton Miller. Jones, who was third team at the start of 2014 before injuries forced him into the national title march, is now the starter. Miller, the 2013 starter, is now working at wideout, with Barrett serving as the backup. Third team in the spring, Kizer seized his opportunity by directing an 11th-hour comeback win at Virginia af- ter Zaire was injured. The composure he has already demonstrated has been very advanced, especially in up-tempo two-minute drills. Kizer engineered the 80-yard game-winning touchdown drive against the Cavaliers while mak- ing plays with his arm, feet and head in the closing minute, and against UMass he directed a 74-yard TD drive in the final 1:27 of the first half to build a 35-20 halftime cushion. "He has a real good sense of what needs to be accomplished — not turn- ing the football over, making sure that he makes good decisions, not taking a sack," Kelly said of Kizer's operation of the two-minute offense. "He's got a lot of those things al- ready, and I think that makes it easier for us to go into those situations and not sit on the ball." Kizer, who also rushed for 42 yards with a seven-yard score against the Minutemen, also has provided the cru- cial intangible of presence — and not just when he's in the pocket. "It's not meek; it's not weak," Kelly said. "It's a presence that he brings when he goes out there. … He's learn- ing along the way. There are things that he hasn't seen before. There will be mistakes that he makes this week- end as well. "But I think that it's his presence that allows the other 10 players to have a great deal of confidence that they can go out and be successful." A gradual next step down the 2015 road is developing that same feeling from Wimbush. That could enliven some quarterback debates in 2016. It's a "problem" Kelly and Co., are willing to confront. ✦

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