'16 CA QB Ian Book (Notre Dame Signed NLI)

[Irish YJ]

Jaylen and Stanley were on the cover before 2015 I think? Could be remembering wrong. Before that, Manti.

that was my guess too.

 

[SouthSideChiDomer]

Stanley and Jaylon were the last on it in 2015. Before that Manti was on it in 2012. The next most recent after that is 2006.

https://sicovers.com/fighting-irish-college-football

 

[Irish YJ]

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[ND88]

Ian Book is our starter at Notre Dame until another QB has earned the position. When “fans” and foes were writing off this season, Ian stepped in and played with some cajones to help lead us 12-0. So, put some respect on his name. He’s earned it. It’s as simple as that.

 

[BobbyMac]

Ian Book is our starter at Notre Dame until another QB has earned the position. When “fans” and foes were writing off this season, Ian stepped in and played with some cajones to help lead us 12-0. So, put some respect on his name. He’s earned it. It’s as simple as that.

You better be thrilled if he gets beat out. I know I hope it happens. I'm always for the best player playing.


.

 

[Irish YJ]

I'd bet he's our starter next year. Our core issues on O are OL and lack of speed at the WRs. The issue wasn't Book.

Add in lack of speed at RB next year (if Jafar doesn't take a major step forward), and the need for an accurate passer only increases.

OL hopefully will improve. WR speed should get better with the emergence of the young guys.

If PJ is that much better, awesome, and bring him on. I don't want to go back to the days of a BW-like O relying on 50/50 balls and a running QB though. If our OL improves and WR speed gets a boost, Book's production will take a huge step forward IMO. And....Knowing BK, I'd bet on him sticking with Book.

 

[BobbyMac]

I'd bet he's our starter next year. Our core issues on O are OL and lack of speed at the WRs. The issue wasn't Book.

Add in lack of speed at RB next year (if Jafar doesn't take a major step forward), and the need for an accurate passer only increases.

OL hopefully will improve. WR speed should get better with the emergence of the young guys.

If PJ is that much better, awesome, and bring him on. I don't want to go back to the days of a BW-like O relying on 50/50 balls and a running QB though. If our OL improves and WR speed gets a boost, Book's production will take a huge step forward IMO. And....Knowing BK, I'd bet on him sticking with Book.

You can't use lack of speed and Jafar in the same sentence. Jafar did a very good job this year all things considered. I expect him to be better next year, we all should.

As far as knowing BK: It's not like he's never switched QB's before.

 

[irishff1014]

I'd bet he's our starter next year. Our core issues on O are OL and lack of speed at the WRs. The issue wasn't Book.

Add in lack of speed at RB next year (if Jafar doesn't take a major step forward), and the need for an accurate passer only increases.

OL hopefully will improve. WR speed should get better with the emergence of the young guys.

If PJ is that much better, awesome, and bring him on. I don't want to go back to the days of a BW-like O relying on 50/50 balls and a running QB though. If our OL improves and WR speed gets a boost, Book's production will take a huge step forward IMO. And....Knowing BK, I'd bet on him sticking with Book.

I will disagree to a point. I would bet that Book was less than 40% on balls thrown more than 25 yards. If you can’t strech the defense then against the good ones you will struggle. The o-line is needs help as well.

 

[ickythump1225]

I'd bet he's our starter next year. Our core issues on O are OL and lack of speed at the WRs. The issue wasn't Book.

Add in lack of speed at RB next year (if Jafar doesn't take a major step forward), and the need for an accurate passer only increases.

OL hopefully will improve. WR speed should get better with the emergence of the young guys.

If PJ is that much better, awesome, and bring him on. I don't want to go back to the days of a BW-like O relying on 50/50 balls and a running QB though. If our OL improves and WR speed gets a boost, Book's production will take a huge step forward IMO. And....Knowing BK, I'd bet on him sticking with Book.

Of course there are issues bigger than Book but you can't excuse Book's limitations by just writing them off on the rest of the team. Book has shown the ability be (pretty easily relatively speaking) rattled in the pocket and if he faces early pressure will spend the rest of the game bailing out on (relatively) clean pockets. Book also is not accurate down the field, especially the middle of the field.

I like Book and appreciate what he did for ND this year and I'll never question his effort but he is not the QB who can take us over the top. 10 years ago, maybe. But the game has changed and you need an elite playmaker at QB to win in CFB. It's not a guarantee that PJ can be that guy but for the sake of our team I hope he is, we know Book is not.

 

[Irish YJ]

You can't use lack of speed and Jafar in the same sentence. Jafar did a very good job this year all things considered. I expect him to be better next year, we all should.

As far as knowing BK: It's not like he's never switched QB's before.

That's why I ()... Jafar has speed, he just needs to continue to pick up the RB position. Not sure if he can be an every down back or shoulder the burden. I'm cheering hard for him because I think he's got crazy potential and speed. But, he's not a natural RB like Dex (yet).

I agree BK has switched QBs, but it takes a lot. Either during injury (MZ to DK), or after a long period or pure desperation for the health of the team (BW to IB). Can't remember all the transitions off the top of my head, but he's been very loyal, too loyal at times. If Book gets some speed at WR, I'd bet he improves dramatically on the long ball (especially if the OL becomes more consistent and give him more time).

Book has great timing and IQ (he can improve on throwing away, but that's easy), very accurate short to intermediate, and is a capable runner. He's really only lacking in one area (long), and he's only a 10 game starter (I probably shouldn't even count his 2017 start). He did extremely well given the OL situation and lack of WR speed. Much, much, better than 99% of people expected. And I expect him to get better going into 2019 as QB1 (which he didn't have that luxury in 2018)

 

[Circa]

I've brought this up before in a few other threads.
Book was getting molested out there, after a sack or tackle. He was being treated like southerner's treat their own dogs....
If I have any qualms about our Oline play, It was that they didn't stand up for him during and after the first fumble occurred. There were later infractions by Clemson's D, that the O'line has got to bring attention to.

Book in the post-game presser stood up for those cats. He should have ripped them. Not for pass coverage, for the dirty play's they overlooked.

Watch the replay. It's like they (O-line) already had their own hands full and couldn't watch what they needed to after the play was over.
Big time film watching, brings these things to light.

 

[Old Man Mike]

Ian Book will be on Heisman Watch next season. (IF he gets receivers who can get a little separation once in a while. ... the youngsters are supposed to have that talent.) One year at the helm will allow a big step forward.

... and if Phil J is THAT good to unseat him, then PJ is an instant AA. I think that our O will be FORMIDABLE next year. If the DEs stay and stayed fired up, all we need are linebackers, and it's another double-digit win season.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

Ian Book will be on Heisman Watch next season. (IF he gets receivers who can get a little separation once in a while. ... the youngsters are supposed to have that talent.) One year at the helm will allow a big step forward.

Not sure that's going to happen. We were already fortunate that Boykin and Claypool developed into serviceable starters, since we had no proven production returning at the beginning of the season; and the massive discrepancy between Clemson's skill players and ours, a big reason for that momentum-killing bowl defeat, was still painfully obvious.

Assuming that neither one is returning, we're going to be even worse off in 2019--No Dex, Miles or Chase. I expect our staff will do a decent job at coaching at least a couple of the underclassmen up into serviceability, but unless there's a diamond-in-rough (like Fuller or Eifert) whose ceiling is far higher than anyone currently expects, it's probably not realistic to expect much improvement on offense.

 

[fightingirish26]

Ian Book will be on Heisman Watch next season. (IF he gets receivers who can get a little separation once in a while. ... the youngsters are supposed to have that talent.) One year at the helm will allow a big step forward.

... and if Phil J is THAT good to unseat him, then PJ is an instant AA. I think that our O will be FORMIDABLE next year. If the DEs stay and stayed fired up, all we need are linebackers, and it's another double-digit win season.

Sorry, this is blind optimism.

 

[T-Boone]

Big time film watching, brings these things to light.

If I am watching filum that closely it is likely found elsewhere on the internets.

 

[IrishFaninTX]

Not sure that's going to happen. We were already fortunate that Boykin and Claypool developed into serviceable starters, since we had no proven production returning at the beginning of the season; and the massive discrepancy between Clemson's skill players and ours, a big reason for that momentum-killing bowl defeat, was still painfully obvious.

Assuming that neither one is returning, we're going to be even worse off in 2019--No Dex, Miles or Chase. I expect our staff will do a decent job at coaching at least a couple of the underclassmen up into serviceability, but unless there's a diamond-in-rough (like Fuller or Eifert) whose ceiling is far higher than anyone currently expects, it's probably not realistic to expect much improvement on offense.

Weren't Austin and Keys pretty highly recruited guys and Lenzy is supposed to be a speedster. Unless I'm mistaken both Stephersen and Fuller were 3 star players and they were more than serviceable. I guess I'm confused on why we can't expect much production from last year's WR class

 

[T-Boone]

Sorry, this is blind optimism.

why? there are 3 senior types that were 5 star'ish out of high school and a few others that look really promising. Its virtually impossible that the unit doesn't improve and fairly likely they improve a fair bit.

 

[Irish YJ]

I will disagree to a point. I would bet that Book was less than 40% on balls thrown more than 25 yards. If you can’t strech the defense then against the good ones you will struggle. The o-line is needs help as well.

very hard to stretch the field with OL protection ranked like ours was (take a look at the advanced stats - were ranked 100+ IIRC), and you have no speed at WR. BW's deep balls were primarily 50/50, which should not be your bread and butter).

Of course there are issues bigger than Book but you can't excuse Book's limitations by just writing them off on the rest of the team. Book has shown the ability be (pretty easily relatively speaking) rattled in the pocket and if he faces early pressure will spend the rest of the game bailing out on (relatively) clean pockets. Book also is not accurate down the field, especially the middle of the field.

I like Book and appreciate what he did for ND this year and I'll never question his effort but he is not the QB who can take us over the top. 10 years ago, maybe. But the game has changed and you need an elite playmaker at QB to win in CFB. It's not a guarantee that PJ can be that guy but for the sake of our team I hope he is, we know Book is not.

definitely not saying he is elite. but as I said above, without speed at WR (we are very slow on the ends), and with OL ranked 100+ in passing downs, not many QBs could look elite... and none will take us to the next level regardless of how good . it's as simple as that. take a look at the top team's ranking in OL advanced stats. it's a sobering experience. we don't look great in sacks rate, but it would be a hell of a lot worse if we weren't quick release on a lot of plays. the OL any way you look at is just not good.

it's like many NFL teams that have elite QBs (not saying Book is elite) and they look like shit when the OL sucks. they look like all stars when the OL is top 25%. We are bottom 10-20%. that's not writing the issues off on the rest of the team. having a bad OL imposes a hard ceiling on what anyone can do, even with an elite QB.

 

[fightingirish26]

why? there are 3 senior types that were 5 star'ish out of high school and a few others that look really promising. Its virtually impossible that the unit doesn't improve and fairly likely they improve a fair bit.

RB gets significantly worse. QBs have a tendency to regress in year 2 under Kelly. WRs weren't special this year, this could get better or stay the same. I like Kmet. OL, I have no clue tbh. Quinn didn't inspire me this year. Ruhland is a downgrade on Mustipher. Eichenberg, Kraemer and Hainsey all do nothing for me.

Could it be better than this year? Sure. With Jurkovec, anything is possible, including regression from this year or progression into a championship level offense. With Book, the ceiling is lower than 'formidable.'

 

[Irish#1]

Sorry, this is blind optimism.

Formidable ma be an overstatement, but I expect them to be very good next year. Except for Sam they were basically young pups. The experience gained this year will do wonders.

 

[Circa]

If I am watching filum that closely it is likely found elsewhere on the internets.

I saw It that evening. It's worse If you watch the film.
Obviously, you leave It up to someone else... <iframe src="https://giphy.com/embed/BGQvWO6KgwW9G" width="480" height="393" frameBorder="0" class="giphy-embed" allowFullScreen></iframe><p><a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/monty-python-silly-walks-gif-BGQvWO6KgwW9G">via GIPHY</a></p>

 

[Irish YJ]

Ian Book will be on Heisman Watch next season. (IF he gets receivers who can get a little separation once in a while. ... the youngsters are supposed to have that talent.) One year at the helm will allow a big step forward.

... and if Phil J is THAT good to unseat him, then PJ is an instant AA. I think that our O will be FORMIDABLE next year. If the DEs stay and stayed fired up, all we need are linebackers, and it's another double-digit win season.

Not sure if he will be on the Heisman watch list off the bat, but he will make some other lists I'm sure. And I agree, if PJ beats him out, it's because he is so much more talented in practice, that they can't let him sit. I think both however will look great in PRACTICE, and Book will be the guy because of experience.

I can see our O being anywhere in the range of subpar to outstanding lol... IF the OL improves, the ceiling is automatically higher. It really starts there. And I think they will improve a bunch. If Boykin, Claypool, and Finke are the heavy starters, then I don't imagine much difference or much improvement (over what the OL gives us).

IF guys like Jafar takes a big step, Austin (96 247 comp) plays like we saw, and Lenzy comes in to spring productive and as speedy as stats say, then we could be very formidable.

Not sure that's going to happen. We were already fortunate that Boykin and Claypool developed into serviceable starters, since we had no proven production returning at the beginning of the season; and the massive discrepancy between Clemson's skill players and ours, a big reason for that momentum-killing bowl defeat, was still painfully obvious.

Assuming that neither one is returning, we're going to be even worse off in 2019--No Dex, Miles or Chase. I expect our staff will do a decent job at coaching at least a couple of the underclassmen up into serviceability, but unless there's a diamond-in-rough (like Fuller or Eifert) whose ceiling is far higher than anyone currently expects, it's probably not realistic to expect much improvement on offense.

Yee have no faith lol.
Austin will be a stud. Jafar will be at minimum serviceable. I'd like one of Boykin/Claypool to stay. Lenzy is the big ? IMO. If he can catch, he'll add another element to our O. Keys playing well would be a nice bonus too.

Weren't Austin and Keys pretty highly recruited guys and Lenzy is supposed to be a speedster. Unless I'm mistaken both Stephersen and Fuller were 3 star players and they were more than serviceable. I guess I'm confused on why we can't expect much production from last year's WR class

Austin was a 96 composite stud. Lenzy and Keys were both 90+ composite. Lenzy brings the speed we so desparately need. Austin if pretty fast too. Nothing is proven (aside from Austin in short doses), but there is talent to work with.

 

[Irish YJ]

RB gets significantly worse. QBs have a tendency to regress in year 2 under Kelly. WRs weren't special this year, this could get better or stay the same. I like Kmet. OL, I have no clue tbh. Quinn didn't inspire me this year. Ruhland is a downgrade on Mustipher. Eichenberg, Kraemer and Hainsey all do nothing for me.

Could it be better than this year? Sure. With Jurkovec, anything is possible, including regression from this year or progression into a championship level offense. With Book, the ceiling is lower than 'formidable.'

You're OL dictates the ceiling of your entire O. QB is a somewhat distant second. Book was more than decent with a crappy OL and mediocre WRs, and had a phenomenal completion %, and very good (top 10ish) QB rating and QBR. The ceiling may very well be higher with PJ, but OL is where it starts in terms of being "formidable".

Take a look at advanced OL stats on the top teams in college or pros. Then take a look at elite QBs with shit OLs.

Bama ranges from top 5 to top 20s in various stats. Clemson and OK are both very good too. We are 98th or worse in 5 of the 8 stats. That is simply horrible. It's atrocious for ND.

And,,, Bama as well as other teams have won NCs with mediocre QBs and dominant OLs.

 

[IrishFanJMercy]

I think PHIl will give book a run for his money funky throwing motion or not watch Phil’s high school tape kid was throwing dimes on 50 yard passes and is very mobile probally a Better runner than book

 

[Circa]

I think PHIl will give book a run for his money funky throwing motion or not watch Phil’s high school tape kid was throwing dimes on 50 yard passes and is very mobile probally a Better runner than book

In 2 years we shall see. Maybe next fall for the PJ. It's not very reasonable to ask for more....(Ron Powlus comes to mind). Being the main guy at our University is and always will be a handful. Look up Beano Cooke Notre Dame

 

[Pops Freshenmeyer]

You're OL dictates the ceiling of your entire O. QB is a somewhat distant second. Book was more than decent with a crappy OL and mediocre WRs, and had a phenomenal completion %, and very good (top 10ish) QB rating and QBR. The ceiling may very well be higher with PJ, but OL is where it starts in terms of being "formidable".

Take a look at advanced OL stats on the top teams in college or pros. Then take a look at elite QBs with shit OLs.

Bama ranges from top 5 to top 20s in various stats. Clemson and OK are both very good too. We are 98th or worse in 5 of the 8 stats. That is simply horrible. It's atrocious for ND.

And,,, Bama as well as other teams have won NCs with mediocre QBs and dominant OLs.

I assume you are talking about FO’s offensive line rankings. They are basically a mix of run success rate (the line does not get credit for big runs) and the pass protection rankings are 100% based on sack rate. Those are going to underrate the OL for an offense like ND that uses the run game to make big plays in exchange for a high stuff rate. Also a QB who runs out of bounds for 1, 0, or -1 yards instead of chucking the ball OOB is going to kill his OL’s rating even if it doesn’t have a negative effect on his team.

 

[Sea Turtle]

You're OL dictates the ceiling of your entire O. QB is a somewhat distant second. Book was more than decent with a crappy OL and mediocre WRs, and had a phenomenal completion %, and very good (top 10ish) QB rating and QBR. The ceiling may very well be higher with PJ, but OL is where it starts in terms of being "formidable".

Take a look at advanced OL stats on the top teams in college or pros. Then take a look at elite QBs with shit OLs.

Bama ranges from top 5 to top 20s in various stats. Clemson and OK are both very good too. We are 98th or worse in 5 of the 8 stats. That is simply horrible. It's atrocious for ND.

And,,, Bama as well as other teams have won NCs with mediocre QBs and dominant OLs.

It is staggering how bad that is. The coaching is clearly subpar but good grief, how could it be that bad? Quinn needs to take the last train to Clarksville. Should have after the Ball State game like the Cowboys did in their bye week.

And I agree whole heartedly. The offensive line is by far the engine of any offense.

 

[Circa]

You're OL dictates the ceiling of your entire O. QB is a somewhat distant second. Book was more than decent with a crappy OL and mediocre WRs, and had a phenomenal completion %, and very good (top 10ish) QB rating and QBR. The ceiling may very well be higher with PJ, but OL is where it starts in terms of being "formidable".

Take a look at advanced OL stats on the top teams in college or pros. Then take a look at elite QBs with shit OLs.

Bama ranges from top 5 to top 20s in various stats. Clemson and OK are both very good too. We are 98th or worse in 5 of the 8 stats. That is simply horrible. It's atrocious for ND.

And,,, Bama as well as other teams have won NCs with mediocre QBs and dominant OLs.

I'm wore out just reading this.

 

[Jerry]

You're OL dictates the ceiling of your entire O. QB is a somewhat distant second. Book was more than decent with a crappy OL and mediocre WRs, and had a phenomenal completion %, and very good (top 10ish) QB rating and QBR. The ceiling may very well be higher with PJ, but OL is where it starts in terms of being "formidable".

Take a look at advanced OL stats on the top teams in college or pros. Then take a look at elite QBs with shit OLs.

Bama ranges from top 5 to top 20s in various stats. Clemson and OK are both very good too. We are 98th or worse in 5 of the 8 stats. That is simply horrible. It's atrocious for ND.

And,,, Bama as well as other teams have won NCs with mediocre QBs and dominant OLs.

Not trying to be a jerk but who are the other teams? I can’t recall except maybe OSU 2014

 

[Sea Turtle]

Not trying to be a jerk but who are the other teams? I can’t recall except maybe OSU 2014

They won with their third string qb, I believe. I can't remember who the QB's were when LSU won theirs.