Tag: notre dame quarterback

2022-23 Transfer Portal Tracker: Quarterback

The names are flying into the portal — stay up to date with them ALL right here!

What can landing a quarterback get you? Look no further than USC, which landed former prized recruit [autotag]Caleb Williams[/autotag] shortly after Lincoln Riley’s arrival a year ago. All the sophomore has done is lead USC’s charge to a possible College Football Playoff appearance by having a Heisman Trophy-worthy season.

After sitting through nearly an entire season of [autotag]Drew Pyne[/autotag], a few things are clear: He plays his heart out each time he’s on the field. He clearly loves Notre Dame. His teammates love him. And his ceiling simply isn’t high enough to help the Irish win big. Combine that with inexperience and injury issues to Notre Dame’s other quarterbacks, and it’s easy to see why the Irish appear headed to the portal to bring in a quarterback for 2023.

Here is the updated list of quarterbacks who have entered the transfer portal since August. Some have chosen new programs; the vast majority have not.

Keep track of all the movement and names of potential quarterbacks for your favorite teams below.

Note: Players are sorted by the date they entered the portal

Scouts view: Notre Dame’s 2023 quarterback, Kenny Minchey

What are your expectations for Minchey?

As you many know by now, Notre Dame filled their biggest hole in the 2023 recruiting class today with the commitment of quarterback [autotag]Kenny Minchey[/autotag] of Tennessee. The signal caller was recently committed to Pitt, but decommitted a little over a week ago before visiting South Bend this past weekend.

The commitment was all but a foregone conclusion, as many expected Minchey to join one of the nations best groups of prospects. The quarterback also held offers from Michigan State, Tennessee, West Virginia and others. After looking over his tape, there are some very good qualities that Minchey possess but also some things he will need to work on when he arrives on campus.

Minchey possesses solid size, standing almost six-foot-two-inches and weighing 215 pounds. He uses his good athleticism well, but I wouldn’t say that he’s a dual-threat quarterback. As a passer he shows some very good footwork when moving around the pocket. Occasionally Minchey does get a bit flat-footed on some throws, but his above-average arm strength bails him out for the time being.

On the move, Minchey squares his shoulders well to make the throws but the majority of his scrambling is to his right. He is going to need to work on flipping his hips when rolling to the left to make the necessary throws. Minchey is very accurate on throws inside 20 yards and shows very good touch when he attempts deep shots.

Offensive coordinator and quarterback coach [autotag]Tommy Rees[/autotag] will need to work on firming up Minchey’s motion, as he throws from a variety of arm angles. It’s terrible, but not every quarterback is Patrick Mahomes and can get away with erratic throwing motions.

Overall, I’d expect Minchey to create solid depth and redshirt during his first year on campus. He will be behind three quarterbacks ([autotag]Tyler Buchner[/autotag], [autotag]Drew Pyne[/autotag] and [autotag]Steve Angeli[/autotag]) who already have collegiate experience so expecting him to contribute right away most likely isn’t in the cards. Minchey should be involved in the race to start in 2025, as Angeli and 2024 commit [autotag]CJ Carr[/autotag] should all be vying for the job.

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The Athletic singles out two issues why Notre Dame has struggled in 2022

Agree or disagree?

The Athletic’s Stewart Mandel opened up his mailbag and tackled a variety of questions, the first being “what is the biggest issue that you see with Notre Dame?” We all would have different answers to this question, but Mandel had two (subscription required). Find out below what they were and if they make sense.

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How long of a leash should Drew Pyne have for Notre Dame?

How long would you give Pyne?

We are all a bit shellshocked after the news [autotag]Tyler Buchner[/autotag] is lost for the season. The next man up at quarterback is [autotag]Drew Pyne[/autotag], and we all should know that [autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag] and offensive coordinator [autotag]Tommy Rees[/autotag] aren’t brimming with confidence for the red-shirt sophomore.

His career numbers aren’t awe-inspiring, Pyne has completed just over 50% of his attempts (20 of 39) for 256 yards and three touchdowns to one interception. He hasn’t played much, so there isn’t a lot of data to go on. What we do know is that the quarterback competition in the fall was a quick one, Freeman and Rees announced Buchner as their starter just a few days into camp.

Pyne will get the start against California this week, but the real question is how long will he hold onto the role? His backup, [autotag]Steve Angeli[/autotag], has not yet taken a collegiate snap but looked competent during the Blue and Gold Game. In fact, if you recall, he scored the game-winning touchdown with his legs.

If Pyne gets off to a solid start, he could hold onto the job for a good amount of time. But Freeman told the media on Monday that practice reps will be shared, around a 60/40 with Pyne getting a bit more than Angeli. Freeman also mentioned there will be a package for Angeli, hopefully, not just as a run-only option.

This alludes to the question of Pyne’s grasp on the starting role. If he struggles early, as he did during the Blue and Gold Game, he very well could be pulled quickly. If Pyne brings the magic he had against Wisconsin last year? The job could be his for the foreseeable future. Consistency is the key at the moment, especially since Pyne fits a bit more of what Rees would like his quarterback to do in this offense.

If I had to guess, Pyne holds the job for a few weeks (looking at after the Las Vegas contest against BYU) before the keys are handed over to Angeli. I just believe that the offense has so much more upside with a pure-passer than a duel-threat. Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a knock on Pyne (or on Buchner for that matter), I just think that Angeli has more upside in the short-term and long-term given the current situation.

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Top 10 career passers in Notre Dame history

When you’ve played football as long as Notre Dame has your record books end up looking pretty impressive. That’s the case when you look at the best quarterbacks to ever play at Notre Dame. So who holds the records and even more impressively, who are …

When you’ve played football as long as Notre Dame has your record books end up looking pretty impressive.  That’s the case when you look at the best quarterbacks to ever play at Notre Dame.

So who holds the records and even more impressively, who are some of the megastars you remember who didn’t make the top 10?

Here are Notre Dame’s top ten career passers:

Opinion: Jack Coan is not the answer for Notre Dame at quarterback

On man’s opinion on the Wisconsin transfer Jack Coan, who seems to be in line to lead Notre Dame in the 2021 football season.

We all saw the news last night with former Wisconsin quarterback Jack Coan committing to Notre Dame and will be eligible immediately as a graduate transfer.

I for one am not overtly excited about this addition. A few weeks ago, I opined that Brian Kelly’s best option for his 2021 starting quarterback was in the transfer market, and personally, Jack Coan wasn’t even on my radar.

This move does absolutely nothing for me. I’m actually a bit disappointed by this decision.

It’s become clear that Notre Dame, or any school that wants to compete for a national championship, has to have a difference maker at the most important position in all of football. Jack Coan is not that guy.

Coan is a game-manager, not a game-breaker. He is Ian Book-lite and we all saw what the outgoing Irish quarterback was capable of. Both of them will win you the games your supposed to, but when it comes to winning big games, neither is that dude.

Book over his career went 8-5 against top 25 competition, which is a solid record but one of those games he didn’t start, and of those 8 wins, three of them were to teams that went on to finish unranked by the end of the year.

Coan has garnered a 3-4 record, obviously worse than Book. This just isn’t very encouraging in my eyes.

The new Irish quarterback has throw for 300-yards in a game just once in his career. He’s not even close to the same kind of runner Book is, Coan has -11 rushing yards on 76 attempts. Yeah, sacks are included there, but Book had 1,518 rushing yards including those sacks as well.

I get what Kelly is doing with this addition, he needed a veteran presence at the position. With Drew Pyne, Brendon Clark and incoming freshman Tyler Buchner having virtually no collegiate experience between them, taking a transfer made all the sense in the world.

To me, Jack Coan isn’t that guy. Already, outlets like ESPN are predicting the Irish to have a “down year” in 2021. If that is going to be the case, why not get your younger players the ever valuable experience that quarterbacks need.

I would much rather see one of the young guys get their opportunity to see what they can do with the bullets flying. But that’s just my honest opinion on the situation.

Boom or bust for Notre Dame incoming freshman QB Tyler Buchner?

With the early signing period fast approaching, 247Sports gave out QB superlatives and Notre Dame’s Tyler Buchner was included.

At one point during this odd recruiting cycle, Notre Dame quarterback commit Tyler Buchner was a consensus 5-Star prospect. Without having a senior season, California opted to play in the spring and Buchner will be enrolling in January, Buchner’s ranking fluctuated a good amount.

Today, 247Sports looked at superlatives for the 2021 quarterback group and Buchner was given the boom or bust designation. Barton Simmons wrote that “the California native is an enigma. He missed his sophomore season due to injury. He dominated his junior season but it was against subpar competition.”

Buchner then just had camps to show his talents off but “he brought high expectations into the Elite 11 Finals and laid an egg.” It wasn’t all bad news however, as Simmons believes that Buchner will be more on the boom side of things than the bust. “Given his ranking, we expect the first scenario (Heismans and national championships) is more likely,” which gives plenty of hope for the signal caller.

It may take Buchner a little while to get acclimated to the fast paced collegiate game, which is why I suggested yesterday that going into the transfer portal and finding a quarterback with some experience would be a smart idea for head coach Brian Kelly and offensive coordinator Tommy Rees.

Buchner will be in South Bend soon, with many eyes watching his every more. It’s way too early to know what he is and the trajectory his career will take. Hopefully the 2021 season see the return of spring football, and a glimpse of what Buchner could be.

Does it make sense for Notre Dame to take a transfer quarterback?

A look at some quarterbacks Notre Dame could bring in if they opted for a transfer.

Short answer yes, it would make plenty of sense for the Irish to bridge the gap, either with a graduate transfer or a player who has entered the portal with multiple years of eligibility. With the all-time winningest quarterback in Notre Dame history set to graduate, Ian Book is leaving big shoes to fill for the next man up.

Those shoes will be filled by a group that has a total of 7 attempts between them. Brendon Clark should be looked at as the front-runner, with Drew Pyne, Chase Ketterer and incoming freshman Tyler Buchner all vying for playing time.

Experience is huge for the most important position on the field and next year the Irish will be extremely short on it. That’s why it would make tons of sense for Brian Kelly and Tommy Rees to look into the transfer portal to add depth and the needed experience.

This is purely speculation on my part, but there are more than a few names currently in the portal that could help the Irish next year. Let’s take a look at some of those quarterbacks who would make sense for Kelly and Rees to pursue.

Notre Dame football: Ian Book catches, passes Rees in career touchdown passes

Notre Dame quarterback Ian Book caught his coach on an all-time list Saturday. And then passed him about an hour later!

On the first drive of Notre Dame’s game at Pitt on Saturday, quarterback Ian Book connected with receiver Ben Skowronek on a pass that got the Irish on the board early with a 34 yard touchdown.

That pass tied Book with former Notre Dame quarterback and current Irish play-caller Tommy Rees for second all-time in program history as it was the 61st of Book’s career.

Just a quarter later it was Book finding Skowronek again, this time for an athletic catch and run that went for 73 yards and another Notre Dame score.

It also moved Book past Rees and into second place by himself in program history in terms of touchdown passes with 62 now for his career.

With a maximum of just eight games remaining for Book after Saturday, it’s beyond unlikely that he ever catches Brady Quinn who had 95 career touchdown tosses for the blue and gold.

Mel Kiper, Jr. Weighs in on Ian Book in NFL

Can Ian Book of Notre Dame play quarterback in the NFL? Draft analyst Mel Kiper, Jr. weighed in over the weekend with his thoughts.

Anyone who follows the NFL Draft knows that Mel Kiper, Jr. is the guru of all of it.  Even though several of his predictions end up being nowhere near to correct, he’s been doing this as long as any other expert and is the first name most think of when draft experts are discussed.

Kiper joined the ESPN College Football podcast recently and shared his opinions on the 2021 NFL Draft class of quarterbacks while offering a breakdown of Notre Dame’s current signal caller, Ian Book.

“I’m a big Notre Dame fan, as you know,” Kiper said.
-Disclaimer:  I actually had no idea about this. I know he’s been more than generous about some Notre Dame players scouting reports over the years but I had no idea he was actually an open Notre Dame fan.  Not that it really matters. Anyway, back to Book.

“Ian Book is just a good college quarterback. I think, as a backup in the NFL, that’s what you’re hoping maybe he can develop into. He’s not Jake Fromm. Look where Jake Fromm went, fifth round. Is he as good as Jake Fromm? No. His grade is not going to be as high. Jake Fromm went in the fifth round to be in Buffalo backing up Josh Allen. Ian Book is just a good college quarterback, consistent week in and week out.”

“I have him at nine in terms of the quarterbacks. He’s in that mid-round to late-round type of guy.”

Mel Kiper, Jr. on Ian Book as a potential NFL Quarterback

I like that he brings up the comparison to Fromm because there is a lot to compare there for Notre Dame fans.  When you think back to the 2019 game against Georgia what was the biggest difference in the game?

Notre Dame’s defense could play with Georgia’s but the difference between Fromm and Book was as telling as anything else that night.  Fromm made what would be seen as closer to “big time throws” while Book simply didn’t.

If Fromm was worthy of a fifth round pick, my best guess is that it’s borderline at best that Book would even be drafted right now.  That said, there is a full season of football (hopefully) for Book’s stock to (hopefully) grow.

Fromm was nowhere near an elite college quarterback, at least when you’re talking Joe Burrow, Trevor Lawrence or Justin Fields, but he was also a good college quarterback.

I don’t have a ton of faith in Ian Book making an enormous leap and and getting much higher than ninth in most rankings of potential quarterbacks in the 2021 NFL Draft, but he is a solid college quarterback and clearly the best option for Notre Dame as the 2020 season approaches.