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

[IrishLion]

Dobbs isn't so bad, either. He could be pretty good this year with more reps as the season goes on.

 

[PANDFAN]

5) Malik Zaire, QB, Notre Dame Fighting Irish -- 50/1
With Everett Golson leaving, Zaire has gone from "off-the-board" to 50/1. He's a dangerous runner and an underrated passer who looked good beating a talented LSU team in the bowl game last season. And he was just getting warmed up. I think ND has the top-level talent in some key places to make a run at the College Football Playoff. The biggest question mark is running the offense. That's on Zaire to be smart and consistent with the ball, but folks inside the program are very excited about him. He's also got a ton of moxie and charisma, and that won't hurt either. The best player on the team is either LB Jaylon Smith or LT Ronnie Stanley, but those aren't positions that win Heismans.
Heisman Trophy odds: Ranking the top 10 best Heisman bets for 2015 | FOX Sports

 

[GrangerIrish24]

Kool-aide for all!!!!!!!!!

 

[greyhammer90]

Kool-aide for all!!!!!!!!!

1/50th of a glass of kool-aide!

 

[IrishLion]

Bruce Feldman and Andy Staples, two of the big college football writers, seem to realllllly believe in Malik/ND this year.

Staples has mentioned at almost every opportunity that he thinks ND is a playoff team this year, and Feldman seems to be in love with Malik dating back to Malik being a participant in the Elite 11.

 

[GrangerIrish24]

1/50th of a glass of kool-aide!

I was just going to water it down, but this might be easier.

 

[Veritate Duce Progredi]

About to shoot a koolaid-infused speedball...

Texas can't get here soon enough. I really need to see what we have with this team.

 

[GrangerIrish24]

About to shoot a koolaid-infused speedball...

Texas can't get here soon enough. I really need to see what we have with this team.

I like your style

 

[BobbyMac]

Just 8 more weeks...and two days, 8 hours, 42 minutes.

Can't get here soon enough, my teeth have been purple since January from this swill.

.

 

[ndfi78]

Just 8 more weeks...and two days, 8 hours, 42 minutes.

Can't get here soon enough, my teeth have been purple since January from this swill.

.

Umm, I believe you mean green

 

[Veritate Duce Progredi]

Umm, I believe you mean green

He doesn't drink koolaid, he has purple drink.

 

[BobbyMac]

Umm, I believe you mean green

Good point, I'm switching from my beloved Gipper Grape to Leprechaun Lime today.

.

 

[RDU Irish]

5) Malik Zaire, QB, Notre Dame Fighting Irish -- 50/1
With Everett Golson leaving, Zaire has gone from "off-the-board" to 50/1. He's a dangerous runner and an underrated passer who looked good beating a talented LSU team in the bowl game last season. And he was just getting warmed up. I think ND has the top-level talent in some key places to make a run at the College Football Playoff. The biggest question mark is running the offense. That's on Zaire to be smart and consistent with the ball, but folks inside the program are very excited about him. He's also got a ton of moxie and charisma, and that won't hurt either. The best player on the team is either LB Jaylon Smith or LT Ronnie Stanley, but those aren't positions that win Heismans.
Heisman Trophy odds: Ranking the top 10 best Heisman bets for 2015 | FOX Sports

I would drop $10-$20 if I were in Vegas on those odds. If ND makes a run someone on the team is bound to be a contender. Heisman is a popularity contest.

 

[BobbyMac]

I would drop $10-$20 if I were in Vegas on those odds. If ND makes a run someone on the team is bound to be a contender. Heisman is a popularity contest.

Exactly. However, Vegas would never give him those odds. He'd be at 17/1 on the high side. All ND has to do is even sniff the playoffs over the next 3 years, and he's on the short list every year they do.

.

 

[#1rish]

Named to the Maxwell Award watch list.

edit: Whoops, didn't realize the list was released a few days ago. My bad.

 

[irishfan]

South Bend Tribune 2015 ND Insider Notre Dame Football Preview: Zaire Unleashed - One Foot Down

Some good quotes. Some not great ones. He probably should've kept the USC post-game thoughts to himself as well as the criticism of the coaches, but hopefully this is just what he uses to motivate himself.

On Self-Confidence Early in His Career

"When I walk on the field, I honestly believe I'm the best guy out there...I knew that I had to believe in myself when all this stuff was going on and I wasn't getting reps. I was getting cussed out and embarrassed and belittled every day by the coaches and looked down upon by the players, because they didn't know. They just assumed because I didn't have a good rep, that I wasn't good. It's just that constant belief in myself that I knew I was better than people were making me seem that kept me going."

On Expecting to Play as a True Freshman

"I got my reps here and there. I wish I could have gotten more, but whatever. Summer came and I didn't know what my position was (on the depth chart). I wasn't ready, but I thought I'd get a chance to play."

On Expecting to Play as a Redshirt Freshman

"I thought I would have the chance to start, and it wasn't like that at all. It was like an unwritten thing. 'He's (Golson) going to be the guy.' You can't say there's going to be a quarterback competition and then decide three days into camp that he won the position.

I didn't have the opportunity then, because I didn't even run first-team reps. He was running everything with the first team, and then coach Kelly said, "All right he won the starting job.' That isn't a competition. He was meant to win from the beginning."

On Lack of Practice Reps

"I couldn't do scout team, because they really didn't know if I was going to play or not. So I was at practice for a whole year just standing there--just standing there, just standing there. I'd go in and get like two reps, and then just stand there the whole practice. Some practices I wouldn't even get reps. I would just get some 1-on-1 reps sometimes."

On the Aftermath of the USC Game

I was playing and smiling and having a good time like we were winning. Everybody was upset, and I couldn't have been happier. I was upset that we lost, but I was happier at the fact that, 'All right at least you can give me some respect. At least you can say I'm not a bad player, like you make me out to be every day at practice."

On His Big, Big Goals

"I was never looking at Ev and thinking 'He threw a nice pass and now I have to do that.' I was thinking bigger picture. I wanted to be the best in the whole country. Even if I were chosen to play over Ev that wasn't big enough for me. He isn't the best in the country. I'm talking about best, best. Peyton Manning best. That was who I was looking to. I'm trying to catch up with those guys. The quarterback competition was small fish."

On 2015 Being the Year

"This is the year we win the national championship, 100 percent in my mind. There's no excuse. This is the year we're doing it. Too many guys are on the same page that really believe it. I think it's good to talk about it. A lot of time coaches and players say, 'Think about the first step.' I think that's important, but I also think you should continue to talk about it.

It's OK to circulate that around the locker room, that we're winning the national championship. It's OK to look down the road. Why stop talking about it? You speak things into existence, and the more we keep telling ourselves that and work towards it and believe it, it'll all fall into place.

From UMass to USC, they are all of the same importance. We can't lose a game. This is the team that we're winning the national championship with. This is the team to do it. I think people need to believe it, because we believe it."

 

[Irish Man3]

South Bend Tribune 2015 ND Insider Notre Dame Football Preview: Zaire Unleashed - One Foot Down

Some good quotes. Some not great ones. He probably should've kept the USC post-game thoughts to himself as well as the criticism of the coaches, but hopefully this is just what he uses to motivate himself.

Read this earlier. Sounds like a young kid desperate to prove himself. Love his moxy and confidence but I agree with you that some things are better left unsaid.

 

[KPENN]

It'll be interesting to see how people react. The only thing i'll say, is that if Golson said some of those things he'd be getting killed by this fanbase.

 

[BobbyMac]

On Self-Confidence Early in His Career

"When I walk on the field, I honestly believe I'm the best guy out there...I knew that I had to believe in myself when all this stuff was going on and I wasn't getting reps. I was getting cussed out and embarrassed and belittled every day by the coaches and looked down upon by the players, because they didn't know. They just assumed because I didn't have a good rep, that I wasn't good. It's just that constant belief in myself that I knew I was better than people were making me seem that kept me going."

I can't wait to see / read the interview where a reporter asks CBK about this quote. How he handles it will be really interesting to me and profoundly important to ND's next three years. Coach runs a good program and does it with dignity but there are things that I don't get about his methods at times and Malik just put him on full blast. I hope Coach takes this opportunity to let MZ lead this team to the next level and not try to reel him in or flip the script and rub his nose in it, like MZ did the staffs.

I've been around the block in the sports world and even Bobby Knight took the reigns off Isaiah in '81 and let him win IU a title. That's the only time Bobby ever did that but he was smart enough to know what a special leader he had in Isaiah even as just a sophomore.

I'm not gonna lie, this quote above could become a problem if CBK chooses it to become one but if CBK is smart, he'll see what he has with MZ and jump on board. Malik has made it clear what his expectations are and I don't see him as the type that's going to back peddle on that position. I hope the staff and the team fall in line and play follow the leader.

The great ones are like this. Extremely driven and happy with only total success. Bird, Magic, Jordan, Kobe and LeBron all had this drive and willingness to tell the press what they expected and didn't back down from their words and didn't make excuses when they failed. That's ok. You need to expect to win everytime just to win a few and if the Irish win one and "lose" two in Malik's era. Well remember it for the rest of our lives.

Now it's time to make it happen.

.

 

[We_Are_ND]

Definitely do not like the interview at all. I understand maybe saying some of this stuff after your career is over. But talking about players and coaches before you even prove anything? Ehhh. Hope it all works out thought obviously.

 

[BGIF]

This is a kid in serious need of some one on one time with Crash Davis on how to give an interview.

To paraphrase Crash, "You've got a million dollar arm with a 5 cent mouth."

 

[BleedBlueGold]

This is a kid in serious need of some one on one time with Crash Davis on how to give an interview.

To paraphrase Crash, "You've got a million dollar arm with a 5 cent mouth."

Totally agree. He needs improvement in this area. Airing out team laundry (regardless of context) is always a no no. He has great confidence, but he needs to make sure that confidence doesn't become arrogance and that he doesn't put himself above the team. Some of quotes were borderline selfish-talk.

Here's a thought, Malik: Be humble. Prove it on the field and not with your mouth. Always put your team above yourself. And don't expose the team's (or coaches') dirty laundry in interviews.

 

[GrangerIrish24]

I like it. It's kind of a self-imposed put up or shut up. From most reports, the players are really getting behind Mailk.
Look at the bright side; he hasn't hit a woman, stolen anything, been investigated for any criminal act, or suspended from school.

 

[Irish Insanity]

He definitely doesn't seem to have a filter and doesn't think before he talks. Or at least I hope that wasn't woth forethought. However, he seemed well spoken, open, and honest. At least he didn't humiliate himself or the University as many do with the way they interview.

 

[Veritate Duce Progredi]

Lucky for Malik, he's going to have 12 games to prove he can cash the check his mouth has written.

Win 11+ and he'll be showered with glowing appellations. Turn the ball over, lose multiple games and he was just another guy who ran his mouth.

The young man likes pressure and now he's created it.

 

[woolybug25]

This article has already been hashed out here already. You know. OFD reprints it and the board goes berzerk again. lol

You guys are weird...

 

[NDdomer2]

hes got some weird need for approval....

 

[irishfan]

This article has already been hashed out here already. You know. OFD reprints it and the board goes berzerk again. lol

You guys are weird...

This article is in the ND Insider magazine, and not online, which is stated in OFD. Some of these quotes were out there already as teasers, but many were not. Some of the more interesting remarks (being happy post-game USC or saying he was looked down upon by players of the team) were not posted on this site yet.

 

[IrishLion]

Yeah, I hope BK has Malik pumping the breaks.

I love his confidence, but airing out the team's info, even things that appear to be his own opinion, is a bad look.

He's almost blasting the coaching staff for the way they were treating him while Golson was on the team... but perhaps he means coaches that aren't around anymore. It appears that he has a very tiny filter, but I'd be shocked if he would knowingly be talking specifically about BK in an interview.

 

[Booslum31]

This article has already been hashed out here already. You know. OFD reprints it and the board goes berzerk again. lol

You guys are weird...

That's what makes us skrong...