Tag: notre dame quarterbacks

Five ways to fix Notre Dame from flopping in big games

An opinion of what Notre Dame needs to do in order to truly compete for a national championship.

It seemed like this year was going to be different, especially after the thrilling victory over Clemson during the regular season, but that wasn’t the case. Back-to-back blowout losses to Clemson and Alabama ultimately put this season along with many in recent times, a disappointing ending. The Notre Dame faithful just can’t seem to elude this glaring statistic:

I’ve had a few days to digest the Rose Bowl loss to Alabama, looking at their sidelines and trying to figure out how to get to their level of competitiveness. Here are five ways Notre Dame can avoid being embarrassed on the big stage  in the future.

Notre Dame Player Preview: Avery Davis – RB/WR

Davis was recruited out of Cedar Hill, Texas as a quarterback but changed positions after the likes of Brandon Wimbush, Ian Book and Phil Jurkovec found themselves well ahead on the depth chart.  Davis might not have stats that jump off the page at you but some of his highlights certainly do.

vWe get a day closer to Notre Dame football returning and although we’re anything but certain as to what exact day that will be, we’re still excited for the idea of it.

Before the ball is kicked though we need to keep informing you on those that will suit up in blue and gold this fall (or next spring).

In this edition we look at a player who was recruited as a quarterback, has spent time as a corner and also at wide receiver and running back.  We’re talking about Notre Dame’s version of the Swiss Army Knife, Avery Davis.

Stats and Information…

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Notre Dame commit Buchner Compared to 1st Round NFL Draft Choice

The future Irish signal caller, Tyler Buchner, has been compared to a rival school first round selection at quarterback.

Last year in March, California quarterback Tyler Buchner made his college decision. His selection delighted Irish fans, as the five-star player kicked off the 2021 recruiting class. Buchner missed the majority of his sophomore year after an ACL injury, but that didn’t stop Brian Kelly from accepting his verbal commitment. A return to the field in his junior year, only made Kelly’s decision to accept the pledge look fantastic: Buchner returned to his elite form.

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With yet another round of updates to the 2021 recruiting class, Buchner kept his five-star designation, and 247Sports took a look at each of those prospects. As the 28th overall prospect, Buchner will arrive in South Bend next year with extremely high expectations. National recruiting analyst Greg Biggins sees a bright future for Buchner as he “projects as a impact upper tier Power Five starter and future high-round NFL draft pick.”

Chance Linton, who assembled the piece, gave Buchner a second-round NFL draft projection. What was interesting, however, was the player comparison Linton gave Buchner, former USC quarterback Sam Darnold. The former rival QB threw for 7,229 yards with a 57/22 TD to INT ratio in 27 career games, 24 starts. It’s high praise to be compared to the third overall pick of the 2018 draft.

When Buchner arrives on campus, if his ranking stays in the same area, he will be the highest-rated quarterback recruit to enroll at Notre Dame since Gunner Kiel in 2012.

Buchner will have an opportunity to contribute as a freshman. With senior Ian Book playing out his eligibility, a fierce competition for the starting spot is expected. Brendon Clark will enter 2021 as a third-year player, while Drew Pyne will be on his second season in South Bend.

Buchner will battle both for the starting spot, and, as the highest rated of the three, he might just be able to beat his competition and make an impact early in his Irish career.

Happy Birthday, Ian Book!

When I think of Ian Book it’s not the game-winning touchdown he scored against Virginia Tech I remember first, it’s instead his 2018 performance against a stingy Northwestern team while playing with a rib injury that would keep him out the following week.

Ian Book has started 22 games at Notre Dame and has won all but three of them.  Today he celebrates his 22nd birthday and I get that he’s not every Notre Dame fan’s cup of tea, but he’s going to leave the Notre Dame football program towards the top of several lists.

He will enter 2020 sixth in all-time passing yards at Notre Dame and have a real shot to be second on that list by seasons end as just 2030 yards separate him from Jimmy Clausen.  Brady Quinn sits atop with 11,762 passing yards.

His 57 touchdown passes are the fourth most already and just four fewer than second place Tommy Rees, who shared birthday wishes for Notre Dame’s current QB1 earlier today.

To top that off Book has 1032 career rushing yards which ranks 15th most in school history and could finish in the top-ten if his 2020 numbers are anywhere near what he did in 2019.  His eight rushing touchdowns are also tied for 24th in school history and are the same amount Armando Allen ran for in his four seasons.

Book will go down as a great on the stat sheet but barring something unforeseen in 2020, I’m not going to remember him for numbers.  When I think of Ian Book it’s not the game-winning touchdown he scored against Virginia Tech I remember first, it’s instead his 2018 performance against a stingy Northwestern team while playing with a rib injury that would keep him out the following week.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LKS8RIGi5Y&w=560&h=315]

The guy competed and stuck final thorn in the paw of the Northwestern Wildcats to stay unbeaten, all while playing through a bunch of pain.  If that doesn’t say enough about a guy for yo u

So happy birthday, Ian.  Now go enjoy a burrito or two!

ND Football All-Decade Team – Quarterback

He’s 22 starts in, with 13 or 14 more to go hopefully, but Book was the only Notre Dame quarterback during this time period whose big numbers matched the team’s lofty success.

With Notre Dame’s season concluded and the entire college football season just waiting for the coronation next Monday night, what better time than now to reflect on the last decade of Notre Dame football. There is a little over three months until the April 18th spring game so let’s fill that time with some Brian Kelly-era reflection.

Over the next few months, we’re going to run through the best games, players and moments from the last ten years of Notre Dame football.

With the first installment, we start with the most important position in football. Here are the four quarterbacks on our 53-man All-Decade Team.

BACKUPS

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