Brian Kelly has named a starting quarterback. And as most expected, it’ll be DeShone Kizer.
The junior quarterback met with the local media today and confirmed the decision, the only one of the two quarterbacks to be made available. As you’d expect, Kizer was magnanimous in his comments, saying all the right things about the job, his responsibilities as a starter, and his fellow competitor, senior Malik Zaire.
“I had a conversation with Coach Kelly today and he decided that this week I was going to get the first snap for sure, and he kind of congratulated me on fighting through the process and encouraged me to maintain the same mindset and just ensure me that I would be the guy on Saturday,” Kizer said, according to CSN Chicago’s JJ Stankevitz.
“There’s one quarterback now, but two leaders,” Kizer said. “Obviously Malik is an amazing athlete and there’s going to come a time where you’re definitely going to see him on the field, I believe. That hasn’t really been talked about too much. All I know is that he told me to prepare to be the starter on Saturday and that’s what I plan to do.”
For Zaire, the disappointment is likely still fresh. But it’s something Kelly discussed on Tuesday, keeping a back-up quarterback engaged and ready to step into the fray, just one snap away from leading the offense.
“It’s about your attitude and your attitude has to be such that whoever the No. 2 is, whether he’s the No. 2 quarterback or the No. 2 running back, you’re one play away from being in there,” Kelly said. “So you can’t let your teammates down and you can’t let yourself down.”
What comes next for Zaire is uncertain. Irish Illustrated’s Pete Sampson reports that Zaire can graduate after the fall semester, making a graduate transfer something possible for spring semester. But that’s a scenario for down the road—unimportant as the Irish stare down the barrel of a one-loss season and a team that needs to find its footing this weekend.