A look into our new starting quarterback

From Ohio; Toledo Central Catholic, whose mascot is also the Fighting Irish.

Redshirt Freshman

6' 4.5" & 230lbs

Missed out on reps during spring practice because Golson was still in the mix.

High School

A three-year starter, with a 34-6 overall record

Held offers from top programs including; Alabama, Penn State, LSU, Michigan State and Tennessee.

Was an Elite 11 Finalist.

4 Star rating from 247Sports, Scout.com, and Rivals.com

Ranked Nationally 161st from 247Sports, 232rd from Scout.com and 9th duel-threat QB natiionally by Rivals.com

Ranked 263 best player by Scout.com with a 4-Star ranking

His senior year he threw for 2,847 yards and 30 TDs (six interceptions) and rushed for 539 yards and six TDs

Career Totals; career totals included 345 of 584 passing for 5,684 yards and 56 TDs to go with 151 rushing attempts for 1,211 yards and 17 TDs

Led Irish to 16-12 victory over defending state champion Trotwood-Madison in state title game as a junior.

Ranked as 40th best player nationally by Tom Lemming/CBS Sports

Also played basketball and baseball.

Click HERE to watch his high school highlights.

Notable Numbers - Virginia

DeShone Kizer

 

2; Touchdown passes for redshirt freshman DeShone Kizer.

0; 3rd down conversions out of 10 chances  for the Notre Dame Offense, however 2 for 3 on 4th down conversions.

11:33; Time of possession form the Irish in the first quarter, not a big deal until you compare 5:57, 3:37 & 5:30 for the following quarters.

155; yards on 17 carries by C.J. Prosise for a 9.1 yards per rush average.

124; receiving yards for William Fuller to go along with his 2 touchdowns.

30; yards on a punt return by C.J. Sanders giving hope for the future of the return game.

2.5; tackles for a loss by Jaylon Smith to go along with his 11 tackles (6 solo and 5 assists).

Questions raised from Texas

Although many questions began to be answered from the Texas game several more have developed.

Josh Adams

Running Backs.  Losing Folston is a huge it to the Irish offense.  The original question was how will C.J. Prosise serve and develop as the #2 option coming out of the backfield and will any of the freshmen work into the equation.   Now it's how will Prosise do as our #1 and can Josh Adams and Dexter Williams step up?

Offensive Line.  The O-line began to answer any questions about their abilities in a positive way against Texas.  However with multiple procedure penalties (off sides) including one early on 4th down that totally killed the opening drive and one in the red zone on first and ten, now leads to the question of their liability to drives losing 5 yards as a time come into play.

DeShone Kizer

Defensive Line.  It looked like the Irish defense had the cheat code for Madden Football.  The question is where the Irish the good or was Texas that bad (Note: they did start 2 freshmen on the offensive line)?

Could DeShone Kizer really step in if needed for any significant period of time at quarterback?

Notable Numbers - Texas

Zaire uses the Jedi Mind Trick on a Texas defender.

30; First Downs (14 rushing and 14 passing) for Notre Dame compared to 8 for Texas.

527; Total offensive yards for the Irish (313 passing and 214) versus 163 for Texas.

39:10; Time of possession (2/3 of the entire game) for Brian Kelly's team, a stat Kelly has no interest in.

0; Turnovers, this is big for the Irish Offense.

4; scores out of 5 Red Zone chances for Notre Dame, 3 touchdowns & 1 field goal.

258; total rushing yards lead by C.J. Prosise with 111.

9.8; yards per carry for true freshman running back Josh Adams.

12; carries for true freshmen, Josh Adams with 5 and Dexter Williams had 7.

142; receiving yards on 7 catches for Will Fuller.

7; number of different receivers to catch a pass.

4; sacks for the Irish defense (Romeo, Day, Tillery and Smith)

4; quarterback hurries by Sheldon Day.

7; tackles for Jaylon Smith to lead the Irish.

On the verge of greatness

On the eve of another season, the 127 to be exact we all have expectations and hope not only for the team as a whole but for individual players.  Will the expected stars going to deliver and is there a diamond in the ruff that will step up this year?  The next great Irish player may be in our midst but for not let’s look back and have a little fun and look at some of the best players in Irish history (listed alphabetically).  Not only do I want to pick one to be the best I am not sure I even want to rank them.

Tim Brown; finished career as ND’s all-time leader in pass reception yards (2493), returned 6 kicks for touchdowns (3 punts, 3 kickoffs), Heisman Trophy winner, ranked 3^rd nationally in all-purpose yardage as a Jr. (176.5 per game) and 6th as a Sr. (167.9)

George Gipp; our-year member of the varsity, led the Irish in rushing and passing each of his last three seasons (1918, 1919 and 1920, the outstanding college player in America in 1920 by Walter Camp, sis career mark of 2,341 rushing yards lasted more than 50 years During Gipp's career the Irish went 27-2-3 record outscoring opponents 506-97.

Bob Crable; All American ’80 & ’81, holds record for most tackles at Notre Dame (521), holds Irish record for most tackles in a season with 187 in ’79, holds record for most tackles in a game with 26 against Clemson in 1979 (tying an NCAA record).

Leon Hart; one of only two linemen ever to win the Heisman Trophy (Larry Kelley of Yale ’36), four-time letter winner, 3 National Championships, never lost a game playing for Notre Dame (36-0-2), 3-time All American (2 Consensus All-American Selections), 1949 Associated Press male athlete of the year, also played fullback his senior season.

Paul Hornung;  played quarterback, left halfback, fullback and safety, only player from a losing team (2-8 in '56) to win the Heisman, finished 4^thnationally in total offense as a Jr. (1,215 yards), ranked 2^nd nationally in total offense his Sr. year (1,337 yards), combining his Jr. & Sr. years he accounted for more than half of Notre Dame’s scoring,

John Lattner; Heisman Trophy winner, 2-time Maxwell Award as the top collegiate player (Jr.  & Sr. seasons),  consensus All-American as both a Jr. & Sr. on offense and defense, established a record for all-purpose yards from rushing, receiving and runbacks (stood for over 25 years), 321 kickoff return yards on only 8 returns (2for TD’s) as a Sr.

Johnny Lujack; 3 National Championships (only college QB to do so), 2-time Consensus All-America honors as a junior and senior, member of 2 undefeated teams (’46 & ’47), Associated Press male athlete of the year as a Senior, Heisman Trophy winner,  also punted.

Questions to be answered.

With just days to go before the start of the 2015 season Irish fans are geared up to finally see how some of our questions about this team will be answered.

Offensive line.  Last season the offensive line could not quite get into a rhythm.  A few players shifted around and players sub in and out along the line.  It looks like offensive line coach  Harry Hiestand defiantly has depth with some experience along with talent and potential.  Last year the O-line did not live up to his preseason rating of being a strength of this team.  Hopefully this season will be better.

Malik Zaire.  At the end of last season and heading through the spring the question was how much playing time would Zaire be able to get away from Everett Golson, well now we know, all of it.  Malik has shown from his Music City Bowl performance and well and his snaps in the Blue & Gold Game he can play but the question is now can he be The Man.

Joe Schmidt & Jaylon Smith

Linebacker Lineup.  There are five legitimate players that could start at linebacker; Jaylon Smith, James Onwualu, Joe Schmidt, Nyles Morgan and Jarrett Grace.  There is a ton of talent and some experience.  The one thing I know for sure is Jaylon Smith will be on the field for every defensive snap, and it does not matter what position he is at, he will be in on the play.

Nose Tackle.  Until Jarron Jones went out for the season it was pretty clear, Jones would take the lion share of the snaps with Tillery continuing to impress for the future, Daniel Cage working in the rotation with Matuska and Mokwuah cleaning up.  Now it looks like all hands on deck with Tillery and Cage leading the way.  I guess will see how good Jerry Tillery really is.

Justin Yoon

No Fly Zone.  Did KeiVarae Russell loss a step from his year off?  Physically, probably not, it may take a few series to shake off the game rust but I think he'll be good to go.  Are Luke, Shumate and Redfield ready to be prime time fulltime?  If they are the Irish are going to be tough to score against.  It will also be interesting to see how Farley, Sebastian and Watkins will fit in.

Will Special Teams be Special?  The future, and the present for that matter hangs on the leg of true freshman Justin Yoon.  He has shown he can make the kicks in practice, Saturday we will see if he deliver in a game.  It seems forever that we have been questioning the kick return game and this season will be no different especially with the absence of Greg Bryant. 

Lookng forward to camp

With Camp starting soon there will be a million (and one) questions, speculations and conversations  surrounding players, positions and everything else.  Here are a few things that will be worth paying attention to.

Ronnie Stanley

Offensive Line.  Most of the starting line is pretty well predicted; Stanley, Martin, Elmer, McGlinchey, and Nelson (possibly Bars) there is a ton of talent and potential waiting to solidify themselves as a #2  or even work in a regular rotation; Bivin, Mustipher and Montelus just to name a few.

Joe Schmidt

Linebackers.  Jaylon Smith will start and play often, at possibly more than one linebacker position, let's face it smith can player where, when and how he wants and will do well.  At middle line backer there is depth and I mean a lot; walk-on to hero Schmidt, freshman All-American Morgan, Grace the player who was supposed to replace Manti Te'o  and Five-Star freshman Barajas.

Receivers.  Fuller may be seen as the number one by many, there is a full stable of players looking for their share of catches.  It will be interesting to see how the ball will be distributed to; Fuller, Brown, Robinson, Carlisle, Hunter, Homes, and Brent.

Corey Robinson

Injuries.  Hopefully there will be no injuries during camp however the more immediate questions surround those players who have recovered injuries from last season (and longer); Schmidt, Jones, Grace, Tranquill

Prosise.  After Zaire the most interesting player is C.J. Prosise and how he will work as the #2 running back.

C.J. Prosise