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Notre Dame Adds A Book Mark At Quarterback

Sophomore Ian Book completed 17 of his 22 pass attempts for 277 yards while leading his Gold team to victory.
Sophomore Ian Book completed 17 of his 22 pass attempts for 277 yards while leading his Gold team to victory. (Blue & Gold Illustrated)

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It was so predictable. Almost By The Book, one might say.

Notre Dame’s Blue-Gold Game, whose modern format began in 1968 as a team scrimmage, has an extensive history of the backup quarterback stealing the show. This has been especially true during Brian Kelly’s tenure, now in its eighth year.

Examples have included walk-on Nate Montana (18 completions, 233 yards, three TDs) winning the game over five-star QB and starter Dayne Crist in 2010 … fourth-team Andrew Hendrix posting the best numbers and scoring two TDs in a 17-14 win by his team in 2012… backup Malik Zaire’s monster 272-yard passing game in 2014 while out-dueling struggling starter Everett Golson, returning from an academic suspension …

And now in 2017, here was sophomore Ian Book, redshirted last season, leading his Gold team to a 27-14 victory over starter Brandon Wimbush’s Blue squad.

Wimbush was 22 of 32 for 303 yards and two interceptions, while Book was 17 of 22 for 277 yards, no interceptions and a perfect 37-touchdown strike to CJ Sanders in the third quarter that made it 27-7. Of course, context needs to be provided. The “tagging” by defensemen of QBs (off-limits to contact) inhibited some of Wimbush’s creativity, and Wimbush played against the No. 1 defense while Book and his No. 2 unit went against the reserves (Book was 1 of 3 for minus-6 yards in a brief appearance with the ones).

Book’s performance might have been a surprise to many in the audience because the 6-0 1/8, 205-pound sophomore from El Dorado Hills, Calif., was a three-star recruit who did not come in with the fanfare of four-star predecessors such as Wimbush, DeShone Kizer and Zaire. However, it was par for the course for Kelly when asked what he saw from Book in the spring finale.

“What we've seen all spring: Consistency, throws strikes, rarely misses an open receiver, can see the field very well,” Kelly said. “Runs the offense very well. We all came into the spring talking about Brandon Wimbush and rightly so. The starting quarterback at Notre Dame is a big topic. It's a big story.

“But the story beneath the story for me was, ‘Who the heck is going to be the No. 2 quarterback?’ Because if you guys have followed us long enough, we've used our No. 2 here, quite a bit. So having that No. 2, and seeing him perform the way he has this spring has been one of the big stories. And Ian has done this all spring. …It wasn't a surprise to me. He's shown that. I thought he would go out and play really well. I'm glad he did.”

Let’s be clear. In no way will Kelly paint himself into the corner like last year when at the end of spring — and fall camp — he left the QB position open for competition entering the opener.

“There's no quarterback controversy,” Kelly stated.

First-year quarterbacks coach Tom Rees, who made 31 starts at the position for the Fighting Irish from 2010-13, stated earlier in the spring that Book can “make all the throws” accurately, and he demonstrated it this weekend.

“I’m just trying to be as confident as possible,” Book said. “…I think I can be the starter. Brandon’s a great player and today he did really well. If something were to happen and it’s next man in, I think I would be ready.”

Book originally committed to Mike Leach’s Air Raid attack at Washington State before the opportunity to enroll at Notre Dame presented itself. He’s comfortable throwing on the run while reading defenses, but the area of his game he is especially concentrating on is footwork, mainly getting his feet set properly on all attempts.

“I think I can be a good pocket passer.” Book said. “I do like to get outside the pocket and use my feet. Obviously, I still have a lot of work to do. There are times I miss the throws because my feet aren’t set.”

Adjusting to much more tempo under new coordinator Chip Long has been the biggest difference from last season for Book, but he believes it plays to his strengths.

“That’s something that we now have a lot of pride in,” said Book of the faster pace. “We want to be that team who’s got the best tempo and I think it’s a big advantage for us. We still have a lot to work on to be the best tempo team out there. I really like the new offense and I know everyone else likes this offense and everyone’s bought in — that’s the most important part.”

The quarterback in particular must set the tone in tempo.

“If we’re out there sluggish and walking around, no one’s going to feel the energy from us,” Book said. “It starts from the quarterback position… once they see we have the tempo, they’re going to follow along. I can run a tempo offense and everyone else around me has made it easier to run a tempo offense. Once we get better and keep working, everyone will see the result of how good this tempo is.”

In Kelly’s first season, popular opinion held that if Crist were to get injured, the Irish were finished. Instead, the freshman Rees led a 4-0 finish in his place.

In 2015, the thought again was that with Golson transferring, Zaire absolutely could not afford to get injured. Yet when Zaire was lost for the year in the second game, Kizer steered a 10-1 start in his place while enjoying one of the top half-dozen QB ratings in school history.

Book said Rees’ past experience as a Notre Dame quarterback has facilitated his own growth.

“He’s been awesome,” Book said. “He’s taught me so much. Meeting with him once a day and going through coverages and reads, learning from someone who’s done it before, it’s helped me. I really like the way he teaches. He’s helped me to visualize it, and then go out on the field and see exactly what he’s talking about.

“Because he’s done it and not too long ago he was running this offense here, he can show you what the reads look like. And then when we go out there, he knows he’s done it before. It’s the best information because he’s experienced. I think that’s what really clicks with me. …He really knows what he’s talking about. He’s smart and he’s done it.”

If the situation calls for it in 2017, Book doesn't believe stage fright will rear its head.

“I feel like I’m ready,” Book said. “I’ve put in a lot of work. We have a great team and coaching staff that makes my job a lot easier. Mentally, I just have to stay as confident as possible. I tell myself every day that I can do it if I need to.”

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