Hendrix is an enigma. He clearly has more upside than Tommy and can make a lot more plays (which is why he was used against Stanford in 2011 and when we needed to score points against FSU in the following bowl game). Who knows how different the QB complexion at ND is if Hendrix EEs instead of Tommy?
With regards to Zaire, I think there is a 99.9% chance he doesn't play this year. The staff will want to redshirt him and I'm almost positive that he will personally want to redshirt so he has the best opportunity to be a multi-year starter. So what happens if Golson gets hurt? You'll see either Tommy or Hendrix or both. I'd imagine it would depend on the situation/opponent and progression of each QB.
What situation does Zaire get in short of every other QB getting hurt? Can't really think of any.
Yep, I agree with all of this. Unless Zaire is the second coming of Mike Vick and we just can't keep him off the field, I don't think he plays (by the way, even Mike Vick redshirted). I agree, 99.9% chance he redshirts.
For those who are comparing Hendrix to Crist, saying he seems just not to get it, I would say I see why you are saying that, but I also want to point out that we haven't seen enough to say that conclusively, nor can we fairly infer it. In 2011, he was in his first year really practicing with the offense, having been on demo squad in 2010, and he was competing with two guys who were much more experienced in Rees and Crist. I don't think you can hold it against him that he didn't win the job. In 2012 spring practice, maybe you can say that he should have won it if he was going to win it, but now that we've seen how talented Golson is, how can we hold it against Hendrix that he didn't beat him out? Further, how can we hold it against Hendrix that Rees was the relief guy in 2012, with all the experience he had and Kelly's trust in him?
We've never seen Hendrix get extended playing time except in 2011 against Stanford (redshirt frosh, very inexperienced) and against Navy in 2012 (garbage time), so I think we just can't say what kind of player he is now, as a senior with three years in the program. I actually am pretty optimistic that, if we need him in 2013 (and I think we all hope we don't) he will be able to come in and be effective at QB.
So I agree with Lax, not much chance we see Malik in 2013. It's Golson > Rees (short term relief) OR Hendrix (long term relief) > Malik. Then in 2014, Malik likely gets the backup role.
