Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs Texas Longhorns: Five Players to Watch
By Kyle Nishida
Notre Dame Quarterback Malik Zaire or DeShone Kizer
This is technically cheating because these are two players. However, the quarterback position will play a key role in Notre Dame’s success against Texas. Also, head coach Brian Kelly cannot make up his mind at quarterback.
Redshirt junior Malik Zaire entered the 2015 season as the starting quarterback. Unfortunately, a broken ankle in Week 2 cut his season short, but he did lead the Irish to a win over the Longhorns in Week 1.
He threw for 313 passing yards and three touchdowns while completing 19 of his 22 passes. He could find that same magic in this year’s matchup against the Longhorns.
Meanwhile, Kizer replaced Zaire late in the Irish’s Week 2 matchup against the Virginia Cavaliers. In the 13 games Kizer played in (11 starts), he completed 211 of 335 passes for 2,884 yards with 21 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
Kizer helped the Irish finish the 2015 season with a 10-3 record and a No. 11 ranking nationally. In fact, Kizer had Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff picture until they lost to the Stanford Cardinal in the team’s final regular season game.
Zaire and Kizer will share snaps against the Longhorns. As a result, both will have a chance to show off their skills. Hopefully, one of them solidifies himself as the definitive starting quarterback with a standout performance Sunday night.
Both players’ past success makes them very intriguing players to watch in this upcoming matchup with the Longhorns.
Next: Texas QB Shane Buechele / Tyrone Swoopes