On Monday, Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly confessed that his quarterback, in the midst of his third year as a starter, may not always pass the eye test.
“Maybe it doesn’t necessarily pass the test of those who try to evaluate Ian Book in terms of every little category," Kelly said. "But he wins. He’s a guy who prepares the football team so well. He is prepared himself. He brings a sense of calm to that unit that they believe they’re going to win no matter what the circumstances are.”
Kelly was, of course, pushing back against voices who were critical of Book's play in the first two games of the season. To be fair, in those contests, Book consistently looked flustered in the pocket and failed to push the ball downfield when given the opportunity.
This is why so many wondered if he is capable of leading Notre Dame to the College Football Playoffs once again?
After his 26th career start against Florida State, an impressive offensive performance that resulted in a 42-26 win, Book now has a 23-3 record.
But more importantly, against the Seminoles, Book also reminded everyone that he is capable of being so much more than a game manager.
Book Shows Calmness In the Pocket
Near the end of the third quarter and deep in Fighting Irish territory, Book dropped back to pass on second down and 11 yards to go. As he did, left tackle Liam Eichenberg whiffed on a blitzing FSU linebacker, Amari Gainer.
Blind to the approaching defender, Books felt the pressure, spun out of the pocket to avoid a sack and, while he ran to his left, threw the ball deep downfield where it bounced off the turf about five yards away from a streaking Javon McKinley.
This play won’t show up in the stat sheet as anything but an incompletion, but Book displayed excellent poise and made an intelligent decision in order to prevent a major loss of yardage.
It's worth noting that, in the past, Book's willingness to escape the pocket has often got him in trouble. In 2019, 11 sacks, 7 quarterback hits and a total of 39 quarterback pressures were attributed to the signal-callers' poor pocket awareness, according to Pro Football Focus. In every game last season, his flaky decision-making resulted in at least one quarterback pressure.
