With just two other scholarship quarterbacks on the roster, incoming freshman DeShone Kizer begins his college career a bit closer to the playing field than any head coach would like. But that’s the state of Notre Dame’s program, and Brian Kelly is willing to roll the dice, with Andrew Hendrix spending his fifth year at Miami with Chuck Martin.
For Kizer, there is no intention of seeing the field, but that doesn’t mean preparations haven’t already begun. At the most important position in football, Kizer is one bad break from being one bad break from being Notre Dame’s starting quarterback.
(Follow that?)
A gifted dual-threat high school quarterback, Kizer may be raw, but the materials are there for a standout. Let’s take a closer look at the Irish’s newest quarterback.
DESHONE KIZER
6'5", 212 lbs.
Freshman
RECRUITING PROFILE
Kizer was a consensus four-star prospect, though closer to the 250th best player in the country than the 50th. But at 6-foot-5, he has the length and size that coaches covet, and his ability to both run and throw earned him offers from Alabama, LSU, Tennessee, Arkansas, Nebraska and Penn State.
A coveted offer from Ohio State never came, even though Kizer camped in Columbus from his freshman year on. And when Kelly beat Urban Meyer to the offer in June, Kizer gave Notre Dame his pledge, and stuck with it through Signing Day.
Here’s what Kelly had to say when things were made official.
“There’s so many things to love about DeShone. He’s 6'5". I love that. He’s 212 pounds. I love that,” Kelly said. " So you can see you’ve got a tall, athletic quarterback who’s got good size. He’s going to be able to do the multidimensional things that we love. Now we’ve got three quarterbacks on campus that all do the same things. You don’t have to adjust your offense. All three of the quarterbacks, we finally‑‑ all do the same things.”
UPSIDE POTENTIAL
Kizer will likely have five years to realize his potential in the Irish offense. And with the loss of Blake Barnett in the 2015 class -- and no substitute looking all that likely -- he’s got a great opportunity to fight for a job when life begins after Everett Golson.
Kizer has all the raw tools needed to be a good quarterback, and his athleticism is going to make life easier for Kelly, offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock and quarterback coach Matt LaFleur. And after seeing Notre Dame struggle to keep high-profile recruits on their roster when the deck looked stacked against him, a quote Kizer provided to the Toledo Free Press has to have Irish fans smiling.
I just want to make sure I come in and learn from a guy who has been in a national championship game and has had success on the national stage,” Kizer told the Free Press. “Would I like to play? Of course. I’m not the type of guy who is just going to walk in and want to sit the bench for my first year there. I want to get in and compete and play. I know it will take a lot of work and take a lot of time here at Central for the next five months to prepare myself before I get there. If I walk into a place and think that I am just going to take the job of a quarterback who has been in a national championship without working hard for it, then I am clueless. That’s exactly what’s not going to happen.”
The opportunity likely won’t be there immediately. But given the chance, it sure seems like Kizer’s attitude is right.
CRYSTAL BALL
As we saw last year with Malik Zaire, Brian Kelly will protect Kizer’s fifth year. (After seeing Andrew Hendrix in the second half against USC, it might be by any means necessary.) So Kizer’s future isn’t in 2014. It probably isn’t 2015, either.
While right now it’s feeling a lot like Blake Barnett is the one that got away, Kizer is no slouch. Tom Lemming ranking him 40th overall in the country, and he certainly had some intriguing options to play college football. His athletic build translates very well to playing not just on Saturday, but Sunday.
While it puts the Irish in a pressure situation if an injury (or other off-the-field incident) occurs, having three quarterbacks should make it easier to avoid a transfer. And with LaFleur on campus to tutor both Zaire and Kizer, the Ohio-native who picks things up the best will likely take the reins of the program in 2016.
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