'13 OH QB Malik Zaire (Notre Dame Early Enrollee)

[ulukinatme]

Are you saying best "bowl win" or "best win". Because it's clearly our best bowl win, since there aren't many to choose from. But I would say it's far from our "best win" since Lou.

- '12 Stanford
- '98 Michigan
- '99 USC
- '02 FSU
- '10 USC
- '12 Oklahoma
- 37-0


Hell... it's not even our best win against LSU since Lou. Our win in '97 under Davie was much more significant. LSU was ranked #11 and the game was IN DEATH VALLEY.

All I said was best bowl win, but maybe I wasn't clear enough. Other people have taken that and gone other directions. Clearly there have been some bigger wins, but LSU is our biggest bowl win in the last 20+ years clearly.

 

[irishff1014]

Got whipped up on today.

 

[Riddickulous]

I have no idea why he went to Florida, of all places. Their offense has been hot garbage for the better part of a decade.

 

[ulukinatme]

I was watching the Georgia game just now and they commented how really, really bad the Florida OL has become. Florida fans have whined that they haven't had a great QB since Tebus, haven't had the skill players like they used to, but that OL is one of the bigger problems. Neither QB had time to work today.

 

[stlnd01]

I have no idea why he went to Florida, of all places. Their offense has been hot garbage for the better part of a decade.

And he couldn't play there in the spring, so trying to learn the offense cold in fall camp. Makes no sense.

 

[ThePiombino]

I have no idea why he went to Florida, of all places. Their offense has been hot garbage for the better part of a decade.

Exactly. He sure as shit wasn't going to see the field for a team with a good offense.

 

[ulukinatme]

Why does it matter where he decided to go? A lot of you didn't want him playing here to begin with.

 

[stlnd01]

Why does it matter where he decided to go? A lot of you didn't want him playing here to begin with.

I absolutely think both Zaire and Notre Dame - with the right attitudes - would be better off with Zaire at Notre Dame this season. Certainly better off than him backing up at Florida and us with Ian Book backing up Wimbush.
Just wasn't meant to be, apparently.

 

[ulukinatme]

I absolutely think both Zaire and Notre Dame - with the right attitudes - would be better off with Zaire at Notre Dame this season. Certainly better off than him backing up at Florida and us with Ian Book backing up Wimbush.
Just wasn't meant to be, apparently.

The kid wanted to play, he probably wasn't going to at ND. He had a better shot at Florida. Could he have definitely started for a MAC team? Probably, but if Florida figures out their offense they have a decent defense and could take the weak SEC East. Zaire probably saw that as an opportunity. That offense still has major problems though, and it starts in the trenches.

 

[stlnd01]

The kid wanted to play, he probably wasn't going to at ND. He had a better shot at Florida. Could he have definitely started for a MAC team? Probably, but if Florida figures out their offense they have a decent defense and could take the weak SEC East. Zaire probably saw that as an opportunity. That offense still has major problems though, and it starts in the trenches.

I get that. I also think if he wanted to play, he might have had better luck someplace he could have played spring ball, learned the system and clearly won a starting job.

 

[NewBrunswickIrish]

I have no idea why he went to Florida, of all places. Their offense has been hot garbage for the better part of a decade.

I think it's the "SEC is by far the best conference" thought process that people have that influences kids. I mean Alabama, I get it, but I think the rest of the conference is no better than any other conference really.

 

[ulukinatme]

I get that. I also think if he wanted to play, he might have had better luck someplace he could have played spring ball, learned the system and clearly won a starting job.

He played today, so it's not like he was out of contention. The problem is no one is going to be able to do much in that offense with that young, porous OL. Not one Senior starting it looks like, and the average age is Sophomore. You can't have that in the trenches.

I think it's the "SEC is by far the best conference" thought process that people have that influences kids. I mean Alabama, I get it, but I think the rest of the conference is no better than any other conference really.

True. Alabama is still king and is heads and tails above pretty much everyone. There are certainly other big contenders in the SEC, but not the likes of which aren't found in most of the other P5.

 

[Veritate Duce Progredi]

I think it's the "SEC is by far the best conference" thought process that people have that influences kids. I mean Alabama, I get it, but I think the rest of the conference is no better than any other conference really.

Too early to tell. I agree in past years, they don't deserve any deference. Bama is king, the rest have been average programs but LSU looked tough in their opener.

 

[Blaise]

Surprised Zaire's heart didn't will them to move the ball past the 50 yard line when he was in the game

 

[irishandy]

No matter where Zaire played this year, I believe that Zaire will never be the same player since his injury. Look what that injury did to his confidence, we all remember the sideline shots at Texas last year with his facial expressions and when he did get into the game he looked like a true freshman with no game experience.

Good kid. Good heart. It is too bad about his injury. Going to FL against some of those SEC teams will be tough, its too bad he couldn't get into a MAC school.

All the best to Malik!

 

[dublinirish]

MZ looked bad, really bad there at the end. just no pocket awareness at all, he looked like jamarcus russell in there.

 

[IrishLion]

MZ looked bad, really bad there at the end. just no pocket awareness at all, he looked like jamarcus russell in there.

He was getting decent time to throw, too.

It looked like he was under pressure, or like the pocket was chaotic, but in reality I don't think the pocket was breaking down any earlier than it usually does for most QB's. He was just waiting for the big throw down field, and then relied on the freestyle scrambling to get some throws off after that initial 3 seconds.

That could be as much on the playcalling as it is on Malik not being a pocket QB, though.

 

[ulukinatme]

I watched some of the game, and he had some very good throws, but he did hang in the pocket a little long a few times and didn't feel the pressure out. I certainly wouldn't say that the protection was very good though. There were a lot of sacks in that game, some on the QB, but not all of them. That offense has issues beyond the QB position.

 

[BGIF]

He made ESPN's lowlights segment getting clobbered from his throwing side.

 

[Legacy]

Now listed as third string QB.

 

[ThePiombino]

Now listed as third string QB.

And Kizer is starting in the NFL. Remember when people thought that was an actual debate to be had early 2016?

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

 

[TheChosen1]

And Kizer is starting in the NFL. Remember when people thought that was an actual debate to be had early 2016?

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

You mean like Brian Kelly?

 

[dad4aa]

And Kizer is starting in the NFL. Remember when people thought that was an actual debate to be had early 2016?

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

You mean like Brian Kelly?

More like half this board.

 

[GATTACA!]

You mean like Brian Kelly?

Even BK had to know. He was just too stubborn to balk on his promise he made to Malik and co in the tunnel after the Virginia game in front of HBO cameras.

 

[ThePiombino]

Even BK had to know. He was just too stubborn to balk on his promise he made to Malik and co in the tunnel after the Virginia game in front of HBO cameras.

I think it had more to do with keeping the locker room together by way of keeping a promise (that never should have been made) to Zaire. That said, he should never have let the locker room get to a point where a personnel change would divide it. The culture should never have gotten to that point. Players should want whoever gives them the best chance to win out there. Period. But this locker room didn't; not entirely anyway.

 

[ulukinatme]

And Kizer is starting in the NFL. Remember when people thought that was an actual debate to be had early 2016?

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

There was a time when Zaire won the job convincingly in 2015 and Kizer looked awful in the Spring. One season can change a lot of things. Zaire never seemed to get back to form, and the offense lost it's strong running game which played better to Kizer's strengths.

 

[Irish Insanity]

Even BK had to know. He was just too stubborn to balk on his promise he made to Malik and co in the tunnel after the Virginia game in front of HBO cameras.

Because BK's ego is bigger than this team. And that's not acceptable

 

[FightingIrishLover7]

There was a time when Zaire won the job convincingly in 2015 and Kizer looked awful in the Spring. One season can change a lot of things. Zaire never seemed to get back to form, and the offense lost it's strong running game which played better to Kizer's strengths.

What form did Malik not get back to?

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[ThePiombino]

What form did Malik not get back to?

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

This is the great philosophical debate...

 

[dublinirish]

UF named Luke del Rio the starter. Zaire hasn't played since UM game in week 1