Sep 4, 2016; Austin, TX, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback DeShone Kizer (14) runs the ball against the Texas Longhorns at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Photo Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly ended months of speculation Wednesday by naming junior DeShone Kizer tended months of speculation he team’s starting quarterback.
Kizer and senior Malik Zaire alternated series through the first 2 1/2 quarters of the season opener against Texas on Sunday before Kizer took over for good.
Kizer started the final 11 games last season but battled in fall camp with Zaire, who went into the 2015 season as the starter before going down in Week 2 with a broken ankle.
“As of now, I’m expecting to be the only guy,” Kizer said after talking with Kelly on Wednesday. “The conversation was just more to let me know I’ll be the guy.”
Kizer, who will get the nod against Nevada on Saturday in the home opener, was the clear standout in the Fighting Irish’s 50-47, double-overtime loss at Texas. He passed for 215 yards and five touchdowns to go along with a rushing score. Zaire was mostly ineffective, completing 2 of 5 passes for 23 yards.
“Malik (Zaire) is an amazing athlete,” Kizer said. “There’s going to come a time where you’re definitely going to see him on the field, I believe.”
Last season, Kizer completed 211 of 335 passes for 2,884 yards with 21 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He guided the team through a six-game winning streak that ended in the regular-season finale against Stanford. Kizer and the Irish also lost in the Fiesta Bowl to Ohio State.
“In the last eight months, I’ve learned quite a bit about myself as a quarterback, as a leader, as a teammate,” Kizer said. “From that I’ve definitely developed into someone that I wanted to be for this season.
“Malik really challenged me and he will continue to challenge me. I’m really grateful for the situation because it really helped me to develop into a guy who’s willing to compete play by play and it really taught me how a great quarterback needs to be really rep-focused, rather than focused up on the guy in front of him or the play in front of him or the play behind.”
