Malik Zaire or Hendrix

[Son of Kenmare]

Actually, I give BK a lot of credit for sticking with Hendrix and not burning Zaire's Red Shirt. It took massive balls in sticking with this decision.

Personally, after the first two passes, I would have yanked him.

 

[woolybug25]

Actually, I give BK a lot of credit for sticking with Hendricks and not burning Zaire's Red Shirt. It took massive balls in sticking with this decision.

Personally, after the first two passes, I would have yanked him.

Who's Hendricks?

 

[Jebediah Springfield]

We can win the next game or two with Hendrix at QB. Let Malik redshirt.

 

[yankeeND]

Malik definitely needs to get brought up to speed and fast. He can always fight for the job next year or redshirt then if necessary. Love all the kids that play on the team but, that was just horrendous. It might be ok for the next two games but against Pitt, BYU, and the Tree that ain't gonna work.

 

[woolybug25]

Malik definitely needs to get brought up to speed and fast. He can always fight for the job next year or redshirt then if necessary. Love all the kids that play on the team but, that was just horrendous. It might be ok for the next two games but against Pitt, BYU, and the Tree that ain't gonna work.

Not to mention, if Rees cannot go next week. Ziare is the next guy in the case of a Hendix injury, and Hendrix is going to run the ball 20+ times. It would be quite possible, out of necessity, that he would have to play.

 

[IrishLax]

Who's Hendricks?

My favorite gin.

 

[NDinFL]

Malik should definitely get snaps in our offense during practice this week. I was told that he hasn't ran our offense since spring, which makes sense, as somebody has to run the scout team.

He needs to be ready this week either way, as Hendrix could get hurt and we wouldn't have a choice.

It's ridiculous that we are at the point where we are hoping for Rees, might be forced into playing a QB that can't even play the position, and are an injury away from having to play a true freshman that hasn't ran our offense in 9 months.

Do we know if Tommy will miss next game or not yet?

Or are you just running worst-case scenario out there?

 

[koonja]

Kelly just needs to trust Hendrix. That pass he made to DD was a good decision and throw, DD just didn't play the ball.

If that's thrown to TJ, it's a big play I think and Hendriz gets a big confidence boost. Kelly has to stop televising. If Hendrix is in, we have to have an open playbook.

The way we played Hendrix tonight was our offensive version of 'prevent defense'. We were lucky but we need a better plan if this scenario comes up again.

 

[GoIrish41]

what is Tommy's injury? I'm assuming concussion?

 

[Irishpinoy]

Malik definitely needs to get brought up to speed and fast. He can always fight for the job next year or redshirt then if necessary. Love all the kids that play on the team but, that was just horrendous. It might be ok for the next two games but against Pitt, BYU, and the Tree that ain't gonna work.

Like I said that young man needs to see the field so we can see what he can do. Don't understand why Kelly is not playing him when we have Golson and another good QB next year. Hendrix looks so bad tonight. Malik can't be worse than him.

 

[IrishLax]

what is Tommy's injury? I'm assuming concussion?

Reported neck strain.

 

[woolybug25]

Kelly just needs to trust Hendrix. That pass he made to DD was a good decision and throw, DD just didn't play the ball.

If that's thrown to TJ, it's a big play I think and Hendriz gets a big confidence boost. Kelly has to stop televising. If Hendrix is in, we have to have an open playbook.

The way we played Hendrix tonight was our offensive version of 'prevent defense'. We were lucky but we need a better plan if this scenario comes up again.

Did you watch the same game?

Have you ever seen Hendrix play?

 

[pkt77242]

My favorite gin.

You got that right. One fine gin.

 

[koonja]

Did you watch the same game?

Have you ever seen Hendrix play?

Hendrix is bad, but if he's our back up what choice do we have? We're not as powerful of a run team as we'd like to be, and if this injury to Rees had happened before we score twice, no way we ever see the redzone. He cannot be a glorified RB. If he's back there, he has to be a threat to throw, even if it's going to cause some gray hairs.

 

[Jimmy3Putt]

Hendrix was BRUTAL.

That being said, IF he has to start vs AF I still think we win.

 

[BGIF]

what is Tommy's injury? I'm assuming concussion?

Reported neck strain.

^

From Tommy's movement of both hands to his face while on his back after the sack, I assumed he took a blow to the face and perhaps got his eye poked or nose whacked.

On the replay it appeared the defender had his forearm under Tommy's chin when he took him down. It could have the effect of a clothesline tackle bashing the throat and driving the head up and back or stretching the neck along the vertical axis. Either way is going to hurt. Prudent to hold him out pending further examination/MRI.

 

[BGIF]

Hendrix was BRUTAL.

That being said, IF he has to start vs AF I still think we win.

I'm glad BYU and SU are month down the road.

 

[ulukinatme]

I'd say Zaire can redshirt next year, put him in at #2 this year if Tommy has to go out again because we still have an outside chance at making a BCS game if we don't lose any more games this year. Yeah, that puts us in a tough position next year too at #2, but...if Hendrix comes back for a 5th year then I guess we roll the dice that Golson is back and stays healthy. Next year we're losing some pretty big defenders and may have a harder time making a big bowl. If the light finally came on for the defense tonight, we have to ride them like we did last year, and we're not going to put points on the board with Hendrix at QB. It's going to have to be Tommy and Malik.

 

[BGIF]

I'd say Zaire can redshirt next year, put him in at #2 this year if Tommy has to go out again because we still have an outside chance at making a BCS game if we don't lose any more games this year. Yeah, that puts us in a tough position next year too at #2, but...if Hendrix comes back for a 5th year then I guess we roll the dice that Golson is back and stays healthy. Next year we're losing some pretty big defenders and may have a harder time making a big bowl. If the light finally came on for the defense tonight, we have to ride them like we did last year, and we're not going to put points on the board with Hendrix at QB. It's going to have to be Tommy and Malik.

Which ND players have redshirted during an upperclassmen year other than when injured? It's the normal practice at most schools but not ND.


This is all contingent upon whether Rees will miss any games. IF Rees is healthy I would expect to see a lot of Hendrix next week against AF and possibly the following weeks against Navy and possibly Pit who struggled with Old Dominion Saturday.

Then again there's a rumor in the Golson thread that he might be looking closer to home. IF Kelly finds that has feet, Zaire better get a lot of PT over the remainder of the season.

Lots of variables and we don't know what the coaching staff knows.

 

[ulukinatme]

Which ND players haven't redshirted during an upperclassmen year unless injured? It's the normal practice at most schools but not ND.


This is all contingent upon whether Rees will miss any games. IF Rees is healthy I would expect to see a lot of Hendrix next week against AF and possibly the following weeks against Navy and possibly Pit who struggled with Old Dominion Saturday.

Then again there's a rumor in the Golson thread that he might be looking closer to home. IF Kelly finds that has feet, Zaire better get a lot of PT over the remainder of the season.

Lots of variables and we don't know what the coaching staff knows.

So we don't redshirt Malik at all then I guess. He becomes starting QB if Golson doesn't come back, with Hendrix to provide some guidance I guess like Tommy did for Golson. The good news is that Zaire has picked things up quickly, from what I've heard. Kizer would redshirt next year probably, unless Zaire wasn't ready to go? It just looks like we're destined for QB problems in the coming years if we worry about redshirts.

 

[Buster Bluth]

I'd say Zaire can redshirt next year, put him in at #2 this year if Tommy has to go out again because we still have an outside chance at making a BCS game if we don't lose any more games this year. Yeah, that puts us in a tough position next year too at #2, but...if Hendrix comes back for a 5th year then I guess we roll the dice that Golson is back and stays healthy. Next year we're losing some pretty big defenders and may have a harder time making a big bowl. If the light finally came on for the defense tonight, we have to ride them like we did last year, and we're not going to put points on the board with Hendrix at QB. It's going to have to be Tommy and Malik.

That's not the biggest issue.

Zaire played in an offense that is nothing like Notre Dame's. Tommy Rees had the benefit of playing in a spread, albeit high school, when he was thrown into the fire. Take a look: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uivqFx6J9D0

So he 1) won't have the knowledge base, but 2) doesn't have the experience in that style of football to really even wing it. Then finally 3) preserve a year.

 

[BGIF]

That's not the biggest issue.

Zaire played in an offense that is nothing like Notre Dame's. Tommy Rees had the benefit of playing in a spread, albeit high school, when he was thrown into the fire. Take a look: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uivqFx6J9D0

So he 1) won't have the knowledge base, but 2) doesn't have the experience in that style of football to really even wing it. Then finally 3) preserve a year.

In addition, he's missed a considerable amount of time this season to mono.

 

[NoJusticeNoPeace]

We have been put in a situation where failure is going to happen if Rees is out. There is just nothing behind him. We should just run a pure triple option with Hendrix so he doesn't have to throw it. It's not anyone's fault other than Golson's that Golson is gone, but the coaching staff has to bear some load for Hendrix developing into whatever the hell happened out there on the field today. It's not anyone's fault that Gunner Kiel flaked out other than his own (I assume). We have been put in a bad situation through very odd happenings. As much as I feel like seeing Hendrix play like that again will make me physically ill, it would be worse if Zaire came out and played just like that AND lost a year of eligibility.

Hopefully Rees will be fine for next week and this isn't an issue. It's pretty crazy that going into spring we were going to have Everett Golson, Gunner Kiel, and Tommy Rees. Now for next week we may have none of them.

 

[NoJusticeNoPeace]

In addition, he's missed a considerable amount of time this season to mono.

And lost a bunch of weight which isn't good at all.

 

[BGIF]

And lost a bunch of weight which isn't good at all.

I hadn't thought of the weight. I was thinking of the contact time, actual practice, getting down timing with the RBs and WRs, calling out defenses, and reading them in sync with his teammates. His strength and stamina are other issues. He was running nor lifting when ill or recuperating. And the AF game is at 6035 feet about 5300 feet higher than South Bend.

 

[military_irish]

Hendrix is the best option we have at the moment, if in fact Rees is out for an extended period of time.

Imagine being on the sideline with the only thought of getting into the game is situational. Next thing you know he is thrust into a 4 point game. A game that is extremely pivotal for the rest of the season, on top of that it is raining.

This isn't baseball where a pitcher will get practice throws before going into a game.

A QB can play catch on the sideline all day to warm up but that doesn't compare to throwing a timing route as a 300lb DT is bearing down on you.

Should he be prepared for this moment? Of course. Do other stories happen around college football where this same thing happens and the back-up blows the doors off? Of course just look at Maty Mauk.

But back to reality, every player is wired differently. Some players have blood flowing through their veins while others have ice.

Hendrix has never been given the opportunity to be the starting QB for a game. With preparation he may be a completely different QB come gameday.

Shall we all forget this. (he came in suddenly as a Sophmore and took control)

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/S5W77hz3YFI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[ulukinatme]

I don't know how far Zaire has recovered from the Mono, but at 100% I would have to think he's a better option than Hendrix at this point. Zaire had the only TD of the Spring game, even if it was against 2nd/3rd string. He has shown he can hit receivers, and the coaches have said he's picked things up really quickly. If Tommy were to miss extended game time, I would burn the redshirt. Saving a year of eligibility in the future is not worth losses today. Kizer is coming in, and there will certainly be a QB recruited after him.

 

[ickythump1225]

I don't know how far Zaire has recovered from the Mono, but at 100% I would have to think he's a better option than Hendrix at this point. Zaire had the only TD of the Spring game, even if it was against 2nd/3rd string. He has shown he can hit receivers, and the coaches have said he's picked things up really quickly. If Tommy were to miss extended game time, I would burn the redshirt. Saving a year of eligibility in the future is not worth losses today. Kizer is coming in, and there will certainly be a QB recruited after him.

After watching Hendrix play...yeah I'd burn the RS if need be. I don't mind Kelly doing everything in his power to keep the RS but we can't afford to drop any of the next 4 games. Losing to AF, Navy, or Pitt is intolerable. BYU would be a touch easier to swallow but I'd like to go into Palo Alto with 9 wins in the bag so even if we lose there we can still reach 10 wins with a bowl win.

 

[Irish Houstonian]

What the hell even happened to Hendrix? He's been playing QB for over 10 years and suddenly he can't throw it 10 yards? What is he doing in practice?

 

[ShawneeIrish]

Hendrix is just not even close to a good QB. For me the issue is whether Zaire can play competently because Hendrix cannot. If Zaire can play adequately he should start no need in saving a year of elgibility when he may be needed now. Also if Golson does not return Zaire will need to be the starter next year so would be nice to get him some reps.