Plankton
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 12,260
- Reaction score
- 18,651
http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2016/09/21/...t-notre-dame-rick-mirer-brady-quinn-tony-rice
Entering last season, DeShone Kizer was just another quarterback buried on Notre Dame’s depth chart. He came to South Bend a three-sport high school athlete who never attended specialized quarterback camps. Now, he was the guy who stood on the sideline with a backwards camouflage hat. Aside from mop-up duty in a lopsided season-opening win over Texas, the only time he got onto the field was on field-goal attempts; Kizer was Notre Dame’s holder.
In Week 2, the Fighting Irish were on the road in Virginia when starting quarterback Malik Zaire broke his ankle late in the third quarter. Kizer had already thrown his first collegiate touchdown pass that day, a shovel pass on a fake-field goal. The second TD pass would prove to be a harbinger of the next calendar year.
He had been thrust into action as Notre Dame tried to survive in Charlottesville, where two fourth-quarter TDs had given UVa a one-point lead with less than two minutes to go. The drive started at Notre Dame’s 20, and Kizer converted a fourth-and-2 on the first set of downs before taking the Irish into long-field goal range, at the UVa 39 with 19 seconds left. With pressure from the left side coming at him, he had to slide back and couldn’t fully step into the throw. Still, he arched a perfect pass to a streaking Will Fuller down the left sideline, the receiver hauling it in as he crossed the goal line.
“I’m watching that play,” says former Notre Dame quarterback Carlyle Holiday. “And I know right away. Here’s the guy. Here’s the next great Notre Dame quarterback.”
Adds Tony Rice, another member of the ND QB fraternity: “You knew right then.”
And Rick Mirer, the only Notre Dame quarterback to be selected in the draft’s top-five since the NFL-AFL merger: “The way he’s handled himself since that play makes you think he can succeed at the next level.”
Entering last season, DeShone Kizer was just another quarterback buried on Notre Dame’s depth chart. He came to South Bend a three-sport high school athlete who never attended specialized quarterback camps. Now, he was the guy who stood on the sideline with a backwards camouflage hat. Aside from mop-up duty in a lopsided season-opening win over Texas, the only time he got onto the field was on field-goal attempts; Kizer was Notre Dame’s holder.
In Week 2, the Fighting Irish were on the road in Virginia when starting quarterback Malik Zaire broke his ankle late in the third quarter. Kizer had already thrown his first collegiate touchdown pass that day, a shovel pass on a fake-field goal. The second TD pass would prove to be a harbinger of the next calendar year.
He had been thrust into action as Notre Dame tried to survive in Charlottesville, where two fourth-quarter TDs had given UVa a one-point lead with less than two minutes to go. The drive started at Notre Dame’s 20, and Kizer converted a fourth-and-2 on the first set of downs before taking the Irish into long-field goal range, at the UVa 39 with 19 seconds left. With pressure from the left side coming at him, he had to slide back and couldn’t fully step into the throw. Still, he arched a perfect pass to a streaking Will Fuller down the left sideline, the receiver hauling it in as he crossed the goal line.
“I’m watching that play,” says former Notre Dame quarterback Carlyle Holiday. “And I know right away. Here’s the guy. Here’s the next great Notre Dame quarterback.”
Adds Tony Rice, another member of the ND QB fraternity: “You knew right then.”
And Rick Mirer, the only Notre Dame quarterback to be selected in the draft’s top-five since the NFL-AFL merger: “The way he’s handled himself since that play makes you think he can succeed at the next level.”