Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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UPON FURTHER REVIEW TODD D. BURLAGE there will be a time when I'm going to have to say, 'That's our quarterback; let's go with him. We're all in and let's move forward.'" Obviously, Kelly has much more data and knowledge than anyone to make his judgment call. But given the work Kizer did in his 11 starts last season and the aptitude and poise he demonstrated through spring ball, the starting decision seems easy — at least from the outside looking in. Kizer finished 2015 with the sixth- best single-season passer rating (150.0) in Notre Dame history (when including bowls) and the fourth-high- est rushing total (520 yards) ever by an Irish quarterback. He also orches- trated three fourth-quarter comeback wins last season, and nearly rallied for a fourth, leading an 88-yard touch- down drive to take the lead at Stan- ford with 30 seconds left in a game the Irish ultimately lost. And staying on script and continu- ing his momentum from last sea- son, Kizer looked conformable and steady running the offense through the spring and during the Blue-Gold Game, while Zaire's performance was full of highs and lows. Kizer efficiently went 10-of-17 pass- ing for 113 yards with four third-down conversions on nine attempts. "He managed the game very well; showed confidence, consistency," Kelly said of Kizer. "I just think that he continues to show the things that you want a starting quarterback to show." Zaire had a nifty 13-yard scoring run in the scrimmage game, but through the air he was only 6-of-15 passing for 120 yards with just one third-down conversion on six attempts. Take away a 50-yard one-handed circus catch made by senior wide re- ceiver Torii Hunter Jr., and Zaire be- comes a pedestrian 5-of-15 passing for 70 yards. "The offense developed under Kizer during the [2015 season], not Malik," Kelly said. "So he was at a bit of a disadvantage coming into the spring, and I thought he caught up." The good news, as Kelly acknowl- edged, is that Notre Dame can win and win big with either of these quar- terbacks. The bad news is that some- body is going to get his feelings hurt, and Kelly's starter decision could quite possibly send a fine player out the door after this season — unfor- tunate collateral damage for having such an embarrassment of riches at this position. "I can't keep them both happy. Somebody's going to be unhappy," Kelly conceded. "I love them both. They both are committed. They are both great competitors. But somebody is going to be unhappy." And that somebody will ultimately be Zaire when Kizer is rightfully named the starter. To be clear, this is not an indictment of Zaire. He's a talented and versatile player who brings strong leadership qualities and unwavering confidence to the huddle. Zaire was the MVP in Notre Dame's 2014 Music Bowl upset win over LSU. And then he opened the 2015 season with a surgeon-like