Malik Zaire

[ndomer4 532]

Zaire is a gamer, I just watched his games again and love how smooth he is in the pocket. He's got a cannon and just this fiery leadership, and did I mention he has not turned the ball over in 3 games!

 

There's a reason he won last year and you guys can all point to the experience but it's not tough to get experience. I for one will not be surprised when Zaire wins the job next year.

[WeaverIrish 19]

If Zaire is going to leave, he should leave now, but I see no upside for him in doing so. He's not guaranteed a starting role at a prominent school elsewhere.

 

Unless Zaire absolutely kills Spring and Fall camps, and he is unequivocally the king in the eyes of the players, he's unlikely to unseat Kizer.

 

So, he'll likely land as the preferred back-up... and will see the field in special and red zone situations. It's a good problem.

 

It seems Wimbush would be receptive to a soph RS as he was acknowledging that he'd likely have to RS as a frosh... unless he absolutely destroys the runner-up in the starting role.

 

Zaire's best bet is to soak as much as he can from Sanford, make the best of his plays, study hard and find a 5th year grad transfer.

 

If Kizer continues on his trajectory, he will leave after graduating in 2 years, then Wimbush has 1-2 years.

 

If smartly managed, ND should be able to keep them all... USC was able to do so with Leinart, Palmer and so on.

 

It would make jsut as much sense for him to stay a year then go take his 5th year somewhere else.

[goirish83 0]

Zaire is a gamer, I just watched his games again and love how smooth he is in the pocket. He's got a cannon and just this fiery leadership, and did I mention he has not turned the ball over in 3 games!

 

There's a reason he won last year and you guys can all point to the experience but it's not tough to get experience. I for one will not be surprised when Zaire wins the job next year.

 

I'm sure I could find 3 games where Kizer didn't turn the ball over

[chirodomer 47]

Definitely agree except that I Kizer throws a much better deep ball than Clausen. I rarely saw Clausen actually lead his receivers on over-the-shoulder long bombs

 

Google Clausen to Tate TD vs USC

[chirodomer 47]

I don't care who starts because Tyrone Kelly will get the best guy on the field. Kelly has to love 6'5" and 240 back there though.

[Franco 0]

Google Clausen to Tate TD vs USC

 

He also had two bombs to Tate beautifully dropped in the bucket and lead Tate perfectly where he could accelerate to it

 

Clauses also had a beautiful dart to Tate in the corner of the end zone where he lead Tate perfectly and put the ball between the corner and the safety

 

My point still stands...Clausen is definitely the most accurate passer over ever seen and he's had some beautiful long balls, but Kizer is the most CONSISTENT long ball passer I've seen in notre dame history (or since the 80s at least)...consistent being the key word and we should not cherry pick instances of any player but take into account the entire body of work

[Franco 0]

Ok. I see your point- I agree. The point I want to make I guess is: A flat performance against UVA should not be considered indicative of how Malik would have played going forward. Maybe he would have regressed, maybe he would have been great all year - who knows? I think he would have been really good. As good as Kizer? We don't know. But 2.5 quarters against UVA should not be how we remember Malik. The kid looks like a great talent.

 

Kizer is great- we all know that. I believe in Malik too and I feel bad for the kid that, because of injury, he may never get a chance in an ND uniform again. And just like, if Malik would have stayed healthy we would never have known about Kizer's greatness...NOW because Kizer has played well when Malik went down, we may never know how good Malik would have been at ND. And in all fairness, he could very well be better. (or worse who knows- i think it's close)

 

You just gotta feel bad for the kid- a broken ankle could result in him losing his job and having to transfer, after already sitting behind two guys he is probably better than and working so hard to get the starting nod.

 

We'll see. I' m sure the whole board is tired of my "Malik Zaire and Max Redfield" apologetics by now.

 

Totally feel you...my point wasnt really that Zaire was showing signs of regression but that he would have gone through the same ups and downs (multiple pick games, terrible completion %) as Kizer did and actually would have those growing pains were he to start next year

 

I just watched the Texas game again and Zaire is definitely a stud and I would not fault Kelly at all if he went with him for 2016...Zaire is able to have such a high QB rating, completion %, TD/INT ratio, and yards per attempt because of his running ability

 

Either way, I'm psyched for the offense in 2016 (I'll hold judgement for the defense lol)

[ndomer4 532]

I'm sure I could find 3 games where Kizer didn't turn the ball over

 

Goodluck! That is also a three game stretch, if my memory serves me correct his only turnover free game was Pitt and maybe Navy I am not even sure he had a second one.

 

There were a number of throws that could have been picked off too. He was good especially considering his age but people will soon realize he actually didn't set the world on fire. He was clutch because he got himself into those situations where he needed to be clutch.

 

I'm not trying to put Kizer down but I think people are jumping the gun. Who knows how more dynamic and turnover free we are with Zaire. I have no doubt we could be undefeated and him a heisman finalist. Those who think Kizer's gonna run away with this will be rudely awakened come spring time.

 

Also let me reiterate we are playing the Ohio State Buckeyes, one of the top 3 defenses in College Football and a more talented team than we are. If Kizer struggled against Temple and BC just imagine what that defense will do to him.

[LasVegasIrish 0]

If Zaire is going to leave, he should leave now, but I see no upside for him in doing so. He's not guaranteed a starting role at a prominent school elsewhere.

 

Unless Zaire absolutely kills Spring and Fall camps, and he is unequivocally the king in the eyes of the players, he's unlikely to unseat Kizer.

 

So, he'll likely land as the preferred back-up... and will see the field in special and red zone situations. It's a good problem.

 

It seems Wimbush would be receptive to a soph RS as he was acknowledging that he'd likely have to RS as a frosh... unless he absolutely destroys the runner-up in the starting role.

 

Zaire's best bet is to soak as much as he can from Sanford, make the best of his plays, study hard and find a 5th year grad transfer.

 

If Kizer continues on his trajectory, he will leave after graduating in 2 years, then Wimbush has 1-2 years.

 

If smartly managed, ND should be able to keep them all... USC was able to do so with Leinart, Palmer and so on.

 

Eh. I think he would be the starter at many top schools. The SEC for one has a QB deficiency. That could change in the coming years, but currently he's better than the LSU, Georgia, Florida, Auburn, Alabama, etc. starters. Not to mention other schools. He'd look really good with Oregon I think as well.

 

Now, with all that said...I hope he stays, but if Kizer wins the job I can't blame the kid for leaving.

[mcgov12 1,240]

Anyone else see notes from Kelly's presser that said Malik is way way ahead of schedule and was actually taking a few reps in practice? Granted, it was 7v7 reps and BK has already said zero chance of bowl game activity for him. Still, I'm pretty impressed with his progress there. It'll be a fun battle to watch over spring and summer practices.

[1qa 0]

Eh. I think he would be the starter at many top schools. The SEC for one has a QB deficiency. That could change in the coming years, but currently he's better than the LSU, Georgia, Florida, Auburn, Alabama, etc. starters. Not to mention other schools. He'd look really good with Oregon I think as well.

 

Now, with all that said...I hope he stays, but if Kizer wins the job I can't blame the kid for leaving.

 

Fair enough… he would likely rise to the top at many schools. He'd have to pick a school where there is a senior QB starting next year, a little depth behind him.

 

The advantage of leaving after Spring Ball, I guess, is he learns the system of whatever school takes him while he sits it out… then he has one year to take the bull by the horns. Maybe he gets a medical redshirt year too.

 

I personally think it's best for him to stay here, and if necessary, use the grad transfer rule.

[KellyisNasty 0]

Malik throws a better short and intermediate ball which I believe leads to more consistent offense and better RZ play. He's also quicker, faster and had better leadership skills.

 

I vote for Zaire.

[AlabamaDuck 0]

Malik throws a better short and intermediate ball which I believe leads to more consistent offense and better RZ play. He's also quicker, faster and had better leadership skills.

 

I vote for Zaire.

 

 

I don`t know where you got your information but the only one that might be true is that Zaire is more vocal and might be a better leader at this point in their careers.

Zaire, when under pressure tends to throw off his back foot and throws into traffic.

His short passes are like bullets and hard to catch at times.

Zaire had one good game but the rest was good at best. This might have been his year to put it all together with Sanfords help.

[seanscarborough 6]

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I mean c'mon. I have to think it is going to be a competition. Guy has some serious tools.

 

 

and then Kizer looks like an NFL QB.

 

 

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Man, who knows!

Edited December 13, 2015 by seanscarborough

[irishwavend 583]

If Zaire transfers, he has to sit out a year and has one year left. If he stays he still has one year after this year and can do a graduate transfer. Best bet for everybody is that he stays, fights it out, and sees where the chips fall. If they don't fall his way, he has enough talent to move on for a year if he wants to. Transferring this year is actually as stupid as it gets. I mean, it's beyond stupid.

[2lakes 3]

You start the guy who you think gives your team the best chance to win. Then let the cards fall as they may.

 

Also, in this day and age, and in Kelly's system, if you are the backup, you can count on seeing meaningful minutes of PT down the road.