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Notre Dame quarterback Malik Zaire is back at the Elite 11 camp, this time as a counselor.
The former four-star prospect was slinging the ball around during camp Monday, and former Super Bowl champion quarterback Trent Dilfer--the head coach at the camp--has noticed a vast improvement since Zaire attended the camp as a high schooler.
"He’s so much more advanced as a passer," Dilfer told Scout.com. "Not that he wasn’t before, but I remember getting him from high school, and everybody was saying he’s just a runner who can throw a little bit. And anyone who’s still saying that, I think it’s crazy. I think Malik has the curse like a lot of college quarterbacks these days that they’re so dynamic as runners that they get devalued as passers. But I think Malik is an exceptional passer."
The next step for the Irish's starting quarterback is to learn to read defenses and look for his second and third option on a play. The only way to improve in that area is through tossing the ball as much as possible and gaining experience.
"He needs passing reps," Dilfer added. "He needs to be forced into taking progressions. Where that translates into Brian Kelly and coach (Mike) Sanford’s offense is third down and red zone. I think where you really need to watch his growth this year, simply because he doesn’t enough of it, is third down, third and medium plus, goal to go situations because they are going to take him away as a runner, and he’s going to have take one, two, three and he’s going to have to work through progressions. I have all the confidence in the world he can do it, but I’m sure there will be a learning curve associated with it."
Notre Dame quarterback Malik Zaire is back at the Elite 11 camp, this time as a counselor.
The former four-star prospect was slinging the ball around during camp Monday, and former Super Bowl champion quarterback Trent Dilfer--the head coach at the camp--has noticed a vast improvement since Zaire attended the camp as a high schooler.
"He’s so much more advanced as a passer," Dilfer told Scout.com. "Not that he wasn’t before, but I remember getting him from high school, and everybody was saying he’s just a runner who can throw a little bit. And anyone who’s still saying that, I think it’s crazy. I think Malik has the curse like a lot of college quarterbacks these days that they’re so dynamic as runners that they get devalued as passers. But I think Malik is an exceptional passer."
The next step for the Irish's starting quarterback is to learn to read defenses and look for his second and third option on a play. The only way to improve in that area is through tossing the ball as much as possible and gaining experience.
"He needs passing reps," Dilfer added. "He needs to be forced into taking progressions. Where that translates into Brian Kelly and coach (Mike) Sanford’s offense is third down and red zone. I think where you really need to watch his growth this year, simply because he doesn’t enough of it, is third down, third and medium plus, goal to go situations because they are going to take him away as a runner, and he’s going to have take one, two, three and he’s going to have to work through progressions. I have all the confidence in the world he can do it, but I’m sure there will be a learning curve associated with it."
