Has Kelly closed the book on QB debate?
For several weeks in a row, Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly preferred to play coy about whether he would start Ian Book or Brandon Wimbush at quarterback.
Kelly is not playing head games anymore. He knows as well as anyone that Book deserves to start.
The strong-armed signal-caller will make his fourth start of the season when No. 5 Notre Dame (6-0) hosts Pitt (3-3) on Saturday in South Bend, Ind.
“Today, I think a lot of the things with the quarterback position require sense and feel for the game,” Kelly said to reporters during his weekly news conference. “He’s throwing the ball at over 71 percent completion percentage, and a lot of that has got to happen with a feel. He sees things very well.”
Now, Notre Dame sees a real shot at an undefeated regular season.
Book already is making history in his short time under center. Notre Dame’s athletic department says he is the school’s first quarterback since at least 1950 to complete at least 70 percent of his passes in three straight games.
For the season, Book is 77 of 105 (73.3 percent) for 887 yards, nine touchdowns and one interception. His numbers far outshine backup option Wimbush, who is 42 of 76 (55.3 percent) for 589 yards, one touchdown and four picks.
Ex-offensive coordinator Mike Sanford led Book’s recruitment. Sanford now is head coach at Western Kentucky.
Kelly quickly saw that Sanford had found a terrific prep player.
“I really liked Ian,” Kelly said.
“I got a chance to spend some time with the family in the recruiting process. I liked his efficiency. We were looking for somebody that could come in without all of the fanfare that was — maybe that’s not the right term, but was almost a fly-under-the-radar kind of player but had all the tools and was extremely efficient and was a good fit. (It) didn’t take much convincing. He was the kind of guy for Notre Dame.”
