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If the top story of fall camp at Notre Dame wasn’t already clear, the cluster of reporters and cameras surrounding first-year starting quarterback Malik Zaire was a dead giveaway.
Friday marked Notre Dame’s first practice of fall camp, but perhaps more notably it went down as the beginning of the Malik Zaire-era. The junior, who has one collegiate start to his name, became the de facto starter when Everett Golson transferred to Florida State in May.
In his first comments to the media since late March, Zaire deflected the notion that he is the clear-cut starter. The junior wanted to make it clear he isn’t complacent in the No. 1 role.
“Being the Notre Dame quarterback is never a clear-cut anything,” Zaire said. “Coach [Brian] Kelly does a great job of keeping it competitive and keeping us on our toes knowing that anything can change at any moment…You never who is going to be the guy the next day, so I think that is in the back of our mind.”
In addition to any pressure Zaire feels internally, expectations are high for the 11th-ranked Irish in 2015. The junior is well aware of Notre Dame's preseason accolades, as well as understanding ultimately they mean next to nothing.
"We know our expectations heading into the season," Zaire said. "I think the expectations we give ourselves are more important than the expectations given through outside sources. Through the summer we learned a lot about leadership. We learned a lot about the things that it’s going to take to take our team to that next level and to achieve the things that we look forward toward the rest of the year."
Zaire, who proved against LSU that he is an adept runner and can run the zone read Notre Dame continues to implement into its offense, missed several passes and didn’t have his best day throwing the ball. But Zaire clearly had control of the offense, and his debut practice at No. 1 on the depth chart went according to plan for Irish coach Brian Kelly.
“I think it’s first day for him,” Kelly said after practice. “He’s got real good management skills. He communicates effectively. You can see for the first day that there’s not a lot of sloppiness from an offensive standpoint in terms of false starts and things of that nature. He’s got a good command, a good presence. I think it’s probably what I thought it would be on the first day with him.”
It wasn’t Zaire’s very first day on the job, though.
He started in the Music City Bowl against LSU and split first-team reps with Golson in spring practice. Zaire’s one start doesn’t stack up to the experience of Notre Dame’s 18 returning starters, but it offered the junior a sample of what he’ll face moving forward. It also means Notre Dame’s starting quarterback won’t face his first competitive game situation against Texas on Sept. 5.
“I’m not the new kid on the block anymore, so I think the expectations that are out there for me should be high, because I have high expectations for myself,” Zaire said. “But I also think being around the team, I never felt that I was cold. I just felt like I would come out here and try to do my job and do whatever I can to uplift the team and push us to continue us forward.”
In preparation for the season, Zaire spent the entire summer fine-tuning his passing ability and seeking advice from former pros outside of Notre Dame, including Trent Dilfer and Brady Quinn. From the outside looking in over the summer, Kelly was pleased – and sometimes concerned his quarterback was pushing himself too extensively.
“He has such a thirst for the game and wanting to know so much that we actually have to slow him down a little bit,” Kelly said. “He was in the Elite 11. He wanted to expose himself to more coaches and as much information. He's somebody that loves the game and wants to be around the game all the time.
“Sometimes you worry about him in that sense, that he's got too much information. But I think he's done a good job of making sure that the important stuff is important. There are a lot of philosophies out there. I think what it's done for him is it's motivating even more to go out there and be the best quarterback that he can be. He's so driven and loves to play the game so much that we at times have to pull him back a little bit.”
Zaire chuckled when he heard his coach’s comments Friday afternoon and acknowledged his ever-present energy that looks infectious when he’s amongst the team. But he believes it’s that exuberance that will keep the Irish focused during fall camp and into the season.
“I wake up with a lot of energy,” Zaire said. “I just love being out here, I love being at practice, I love being around these guys, and doing the things necessary. Coach Kelly telling me if I’m doing a little bit too much, too much energy, I need to calm it down a little bit, but I love being out here.
“I love coming out here and having intensity with these guys, because that’s something that people look toward. If I can keep my intensity level up, I think we’re going to have better practices day in and day out.”
The first-year starter also made a point to show some gratitude toward his protection up front on the first day of camp..
"I think as a team, if we had to put it into car terms, I think the offensive line is the engine of the car," said Zaire. "I’m just the nice shiny paint on it. We don’t move without them, and I think that’s really what people don’t talk too much about is that offensive line is very good and we have one of, if not the best O-line coach with coach Harry Hiestand on those guys.
"He makes my job a lot easier and those guys keep me protected up front. And like I said, I’m just the shiny paint on the car that keeps the car moving. Those guys are definitely the engine, and every piece falls in line after that."
If the top story of fall camp at Notre Dame wasn’t already clear, the cluster of reporters and cameras surrounding first-year starting quarterback Malik Zaire was a dead giveaway.
Friday marked Notre Dame’s first practice of fall camp, but perhaps more notably it went down as the beginning of the Malik Zaire-era. The junior, who has one collegiate start to his name, became the de facto starter when Everett Golson transferred to Florida State in May.
In his first comments to the media since late March, Zaire deflected the notion that he is the clear-cut starter. The junior wanted to make it clear he isn’t complacent in the No. 1 role.
“Being the Notre Dame quarterback is never a clear-cut anything,” Zaire said. “Coach [Brian] Kelly does a great job of keeping it competitive and keeping us on our toes knowing that anything can change at any moment…You never who is going to be the guy the next day, so I think that is in the back of our mind.”
In addition to any pressure Zaire feels internally, expectations are high for the 11th-ranked Irish in 2015. The junior is well aware of Notre Dame's preseason accolades, as well as understanding ultimately they mean next to nothing.
"We know our expectations heading into the season," Zaire said. "I think the expectations we give ourselves are more important than the expectations given through outside sources. Through the summer we learned a lot about leadership. We learned a lot about the things that it’s going to take to take our team to that next level and to achieve the things that we look forward toward the rest of the year."
Zaire, who proved against LSU that he is an adept runner and can run the zone read Notre Dame continues to implement into its offense, missed several passes and didn’t have his best day throwing the ball. But Zaire clearly had control of the offense, and his debut practice at No. 1 on the depth chart went according to plan for Irish coach Brian Kelly.
“I think it’s first day for him,” Kelly said after practice. “He’s got real good management skills. He communicates effectively. You can see for the first day that there’s not a lot of sloppiness from an offensive standpoint in terms of false starts and things of that nature. He’s got a good command, a good presence. I think it’s probably what I thought it would be on the first day with him.”
It wasn’t Zaire’s very first day on the job, though.
He started in the Music City Bowl against LSU and split first-team reps with Golson in spring practice. Zaire’s one start doesn’t stack up to the experience of Notre Dame’s 18 returning starters, but it offered the junior a sample of what he’ll face moving forward. It also means Notre Dame’s starting quarterback won’t face his first competitive game situation against Texas on Sept. 5.
“I’m not the new kid on the block anymore, so I think the expectations that are out there for me should be high, because I have high expectations for myself,” Zaire said. “But I also think being around the team, I never felt that I was cold. I just felt like I would come out here and try to do my job and do whatever I can to uplift the team and push us to continue us forward.”
In preparation for the season, Zaire spent the entire summer fine-tuning his passing ability and seeking advice from former pros outside of Notre Dame, including Trent Dilfer and Brady Quinn. From the outside looking in over the summer, Kelly was pleased – and sometimes concerned his quarterback was pushing himself too extensively.
“He has such a thirst for the game and wanting to know so much that we actually have to slow him down a little bit,” Kelly said. “He was in the Elite 11. He wanted to expose himself to more coaches and as much information. He's somebody that loves the game and wants to be around the game all the time.
“Sometimes you worry about him in that sense, that he's got too much information. But I think he's done a good job of making sure that the important stuff is important. There are a lot of philosophies out there. I think what it's done for him is it's motivating even more to go out there and be the best quarterback that he can be. He's so driven and loves to play the game so much that we at times have to pull him back a little bit.”
Zaire chuckled when he heard his coach’s comments Friday afternoon and acknowledged his ever-present energy that looks infectious when he’s amongst the team. But he believes it’s that exuberance that will keep the Irish focused during fall camp and into the season.
“I wake up with a lot of energy,” Zaire said. “I just love being out here, I love being at practice, I love being around these guys, and doing the things necessary. Coach Kelly telling me if I’m doing a little bit too much, too much energy, I need to calm it down a little bit, but I love being out here.
“I love coming out here and having intensity with these guys, because that’s something that people look toward. If I can keep my intensity level up, I think we’re going to have better practices day in and day out.”
The first-year starter also made a point to show some gratitude toward his protection up front on the first day of camp..
"I think as a team, if we had to put it into car terms, I think the offensive line is the engine of the car," said Zaire. "I’m just the nice shiny paint on it. We don’t move without them, and I think that’s really what people don’t talk too much about is that offensive line is very good and we have one of, if not the best O-line coach with coach Harry Hiestand on those guys.
"He makes my job a lot easier and those guys keep me protected up front. And like I said, I’m just the shiny paint on the car that keeps the car moving. Those guys are definitely the engine, and every piece falls in line after that."
