Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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UPON FURTHER REVIEW TODD D. BURLAGE from the third-stringer in the summer to a backup during fall camp to the starter late in game two at Virginia, all make the insatiable expectations and endless demands the new normal for a player that outside of some mop-up duty was not even expected to see the field much this season. "I think that I'm at the point now where I believe I fit the role as a Notre Dame quarterback pretty well," Kizer said. "I believe that it's my spot." This fresh assessment comes from a two-sport high school star who ad- mitted in an interview less than two months ago that he hit "rock bottom" after the spring football season and began questioning his decision to even come to Notre Dame. "I wasn't throwing the ball well. I was the third-string quarterback. Am I even playing the right sport?" Kizer recalled. "I could be out there throw- ing the baseball 93, 94 miles per hour. Why not just play baseball? I was con- templating everything." The only thing worth contemplating now is whether Kizer can continue his steady improvement the rest of this season. "When it comes to understanding my position on this team, I think I'm completely comfortable," Kizer noted. Which makes one thing comfortably clear: Kizer has already positioned himself to at least battle for, and per- haps become, the opening-day starter in 2016. "There is not much where I doubt myself [in] anything I can do right now," Kizer said. And who's to argue? Kizer 's pass efficiency rating — a statistical compilation that blends ev- erything from completion percentage to turnover/touchdown ratio — has hovered in the top 20 nationally al- most all season. And heading into the Temple game Oct. 31, Kizer 's 156.9 rating was the fourth best in Notre Dame history. Kelly described Kizer as a one- mistake player, meaning his quarter- back has a short memory and is better equipped to keep miscues from mul- tiplying in the way turnover-prone Everett Golson displayed late last year when a solid season turned south. Based on an impressive history this season of only one turnover per every 100 of his rushing and passing plays, Kizer has protected the football nearly four times better than Golson did in 2014, when the previous starter turned the ball over about four times out of 100 plays. And while quick success, television crews and hometown rock star treat- ment are all uplifting, Kizer is the first to admit that sustenance and a garden rake count for much more. "My parents are always going to be the people who keep me mellow," he said, "and make sure that I under- stand that the things I'm doing now shouldn't be anything compared to what I want to do in the future." A future that looks brighter than anyone could've expected. ✦ Todd D. Burlage has been a writer for Blue & Gold Illustrated since July 2005. He can be reached at tburlage@blueandgold.com