Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com JANUARY 2017 9 UNDER THE DOME a 33‑30 double‑overtime win at Notre Dame in 2009. The 6‑0, 225‑pound left‑hander Zaire started three games in his Notre Dame career, most notably in a 31‑28 victory over LSU in the Music City Bowl in 2014. While supplanting Golson as the starter — thereby help‑ ing prompt his transfer — Zaire was named the MVP while rushing for a team‑high 96 yards and completing 12 of 15 passes for 96 yards. Zaire began the 2015 season as the starter and completed 19 of 22 passes for 313 yards with three touchdowns in a 38‑3 win over Texas. A week later, he suffered a season‑ending fractured right ankle in the third quarter of Notre Dame's win over Virginia. Kizer took over from there and never looked back. Although the two entered the 2016 season as "co‑ starters," Kizer started the opener at Texas and seized control of the job in the second half while Zaire fin‑ ished that game 2‑of‑5 passing for 23 yards and with three carries for zero yards. From there, popular specu‑ lation about Zaire's body language indicated his playing days at Notre Dame and relationship with the coaching staff likely were finished. Zaire saw time in the second half against Stanford (0‑of‑2 passing, plus three carries for three yards), but oth‑ erwise played just spot duty when Kizer was forced from the game or in blowouts. He finished this season 11‑of‑23 passing for 122 yards with one touchdown — to sophomore Equanimeous St. Brown at USC in his final throw — and had 20 rushing attempts for 34 yards. Zaire finished his Irish career with 816 passing yards, six touchdowns and no interceptions, plus 324 rushing yards and two scores. In a Dec. 7 letter to the campus student newspaper The Observer, Zaire bid farewell with grace. "My life changed for the better the moment I stepped onto the Univer‑ sity of Notre Dame's beautiful cam‑ pus," he wrote. "The one goal I had set in my mind to achieve was to become a better man, a Notre Dame man. … I believed in becoming a bet‑ ter man and succeeding through any circumstance, and I can say that I've truly accomplished that. "… I have the unbelievable honor to represent this university to the fullest as a student and soon‑to‑be alumni. Thank you to the amaz‑ ing students and staff that I've met through the years for helping me grow into the person I've always wanted to be. I love the Irish and will always be an Irish alum no matter where I go! I look forward to keeping in touch. Let's change the world!" Holy Cross Village is a continuing care retirement community, sponsored by the Brothers of Holy Cross, with a tradition of caring, compassion and trust. Holy Cross Village welcomes people of all faiths. 54515 State Rd., 933 North, Notre Dame, IN 46556 www.holycrossvillage.com ... AND ENJOY THE GAME OF LIFE AT HOLY CROSS VILLAGE I magine making new friends and developing new talents, where everything you need to enjoy the game of life is right outside your front door. Nestled among three institutions of higher learning, Holy Cross Village at Notre Dame is a senior living community unlike anything else around. Our warm and inviting community offers: Independent Living Homes and Apartments Assisted Living Apartments Skilled Nursing Memory Care Rehabilitation Services Call (574) 251-2235 today for more information and to schedule a tour. Zaire will become the sixth Notre Dame quarter- back in head coach Brian Kelly's seven seasons to finish his career elsewhere. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA