20 Questions

On January 16th UND.com posted an article "20 Questions for Notre Dame Football for 2015".  Over the next several weeks Talking Irish will review these questions and answer them one at a time.  We will start at the beginning with the first question which is centered around the quarterback position.

1. It came about due to late-season circumstances leading into a one-shot bowl effort, yet the notion of practicing and playing both quarterbacks Everett Golson and Malik Zaire essentially worked against LSU, a highly rated defensive team from the most highly regarded conference in the land. It’s safe to say both Golson and Zaire are capable of being full-time regulars at the position, even if their strong points differ slightly—and it’s impossible to know now if the idea of a two-headed “monster” at quarterback could really be effective on a long-term basis. There’s plenty of time for Kelly and his staff to let this play out through the spring and even into August, if that’s what they choose to do. So, what does the future hold at quarterback for Notre Dame?

ANSWER:  At the very least the quarterback position will bring intrigue, debate and a real quarterback competition.  Make no mistake the Irish have a lot of talent on the offensive side of the ball not at the quarterback position; running backs and receiver specifically.  However in Kelly's offense quality quarterback play is crucial. 

Realistically Golson has had one very good year (2012) and one fair year (2014) with only one year of eligibility left.  Zaire has one year with some pretty good plays The safe money may go to Golson but the smart money may go to Zaire.  I like more of what I have seen in a little Malik that what we have seen in a lot of Everett.  At this point I still believe that Zaire will have to “beat out” Golson for the starting role.  I also believe Zaire will beat out Golson by the fall, if not I foresee Zaire jumping in sooner than later after Golson begins turning the ball over.  Would I be totally shocked if Everett stepped up and lead this team to the playoffs?  Yeah pretty shocked but it is not out of the realm of possibilities.

No matter what the Goslon era in South Bend is over after the 2015 season and the future should be Zaire with young talent in DeShone Kizer and Brandon Wimbush pushing him.