3 notable comments from Tom Rees' press conference today... paraphrased, but as close to his exact words as I could get without the transcript.
It gives you a real idea of what the Coaching Staff feels Ian needs to work on.
On the topic of Ian's continued development...
"We need to push the ball more downfield and be more consistent there. And then the next step is for him to get through progressions without trying to get out of the pocket all of the time. You know, you don't want to take that part of the game away from him, but if you can get through it mentally quicker, some good things can happen too. He's improved in those areas and he understands what it means to be at Notre Dame, be a leader and have those opportunities".
Specifically on Ian's deep ball...
"Ian always wants to make the perfect throw. Deep balls don't always have to be perfect. You can let your guy make a play on it or run under it. I think understanding when to drive it, when to throw it with some air and when to hit guys coming out of breaks, so it doesn't have to be a 65 yard throw every time... He's taken upon himself to work on it and to get better."
On whether or Ian got frustrated with the deep ball last year...
"Ian's a calm individual and he's always on to the next play, but he knew it was probably something he needed to work on. Coach Kelly keeps talking about sharpening the axe, and he does a really good job of understand the importance of it, and that we keep working on it every day."
On coach long talking about needing to stretch the field and create big plays and how that relates to the deep ball and expanding the offense...
"You know, there was some missed opportunities and plays we didn't capitalize on. I mean you watch the Virginia Tech game, you can find about 6 or 7 of them. I think that it was a couple yards here, a couple yards there, a little rushed here, a little rushed there..."
For those of us that aren't throwing Ian under the bus, but are rationally watching the tape and seeing what Pro Football Focus sees on film, and see what his position coach sees, I think those comments show that the rational among us are not blind haters.
Ian Book has developed into a very reliable, quality college quarterback in his first year as a starter. Now he needs to take another jump as a senior, something I think he's capable of doing. He needs to be able to stretch the field through the air. He needs to stand in the pocket (even if he takes a hit) so he can see guys open downfield, he needs to make the easy throws for big plays when they are available and he needs to cut down on his interceptions. Last year he tossed 7 INTs in 9 starts and was on a 13 game pace to throw 10-11 INTs with TD totals in the low 30s.
Comparatively...
Trevor Lawrence 30 TDs/ 4 INTs
Jake Fromm 30 TDs / 6 INTs
Tua Tagavailoa 43 TDs / 6 INTs
Dwayne Haskins 50 TDs / 8 INTs
Kyler Murray 42 TDs / 7 INTs
Those are the types of ratios I'd like to see him get to.