Notre Dame’s Ian Book Is A ‘Draftable’ Prospect, One Analyst Says
The goal of Ian Book’s predraft process is to convince NFL scouts and executives that an accolade-filled career as Notre Dame’s starting quarterback is translatable to a lengthy pro one.
Book is in Jacksonville, Fla., training for the 2021 NFL Draft and will participate in the Senior Bowl, which holds its first practice on Jan. 25. It’s his first major event of draft prep and a chance to strengthen his case to be selected in April.
His three years of tape, though, has already said enough to some draft analysts. In a good way. TheDraftScout.com’s Matt Miller has a draftable grade on Book based on his 35 Notre Dame starts alone.
“I do a lot of historical comparisons,” Miller said in a recent interview with BlueandGold.com’s Mike Singer. “I went back with Ian Book and looked at the guys who were in the draft last year and asked, ‘Where was the cutoff line for people who were drafted, and do I feel like Ian Book is above or below that line?’ I actually like him better than I liked Jake Fromm, who was picked in the fifth round last year. So to me, he is a draftable prospect based on that.”
Book has some pro-worthy attributes too. His improvisation, mobility and athleticism stand out the most. He was a skillful scrambler and passer on the move. He checks off all the intangible boxes as a two-time captain who set the Notre Dame record for all time wins (30) and worked his way up from ordinary three-star recruit into a three-year starter. He lost only five games in his career, which coach Brian Kelly is always quick to point out in praising of him.
“The athleticism is really good,” Miller said. “Even though he’s not that big and the lower body mechanics are all over the place, he’s a captain, a leader, won a ton of games in college, he is athletic. He’s a player that when you’re actually under the lights, not just in a practice, he steps up. He plays better on Saturdays than he does in practice.”
Even with a strong predraft performance, Miller still sees Book’s ceiling as a late-round pick and likely backup. The tape reveals limitations that are hard to ignore. He’s not particularly big. He has struggled to go through reads and stick in the pocket at times in his career, though this season seemed to indicate improvement in that area.
But when weighed against his strengths, Miller sees a net positive and a skill set that is good enough to cash NFL paychecks.
“Am I going to sit here and say he’s going to be an NFL starter? Absolutely not,” Miller said. “But I think he belongs in the NFL and could have a nice long career. Could he be a Chase Daniel? Absolutely. Could he be a Colt McCoy-type guy? 100 percent. He could even be a Gardner Minshew who ends up in a camp, impresses people and winds up starting for a little bit. Those are all possibilities. It’s just above leveling expectations.
“Let’s hope he gets in a situation like – you pray to God he goes to the New Orleans Saints where they’ve worked with a player like this in Drew Brees, they have a Taysom Hill. And you say, ‘A guy like this works there well with a coach like Sean Payton, so it’s about getting Ian Book in the right situation.’”
Notre Dame’s 2021 replacement for Book is to be determined, but the conversation starts with Wisconsin grad transfer Jack Coan. The Irish staff brought him on in early January to add experience to a quarterback room that has zero career starts and two career completions. He will be available for spring practices.
Coan started all 14 games of Wisconsin’s 2019 season and four more in 2018 as a redshirt freshman. He threw for 2,727 yards, 18 touchdowns and five interceptions in 2019, with a 69.6 percent completion rate on 8.0 yards per attempt. In Wisconsin’s quick-hit passing offense, most of his throws were shorter. Only 9.4 percent of his attempts traveled at least 20 yards downfield. He completed 50 percent of those, considered a good ratio on downfield passes.
“With Jack Coan, the thing you’re getting is experience,” Miller said. “Sometimes in college football, that’s the most important thing. Someone who has played in the Big Ten. I like his short-to-intermediate accuracy. He’s not going to be a big down-the-field thrower. But when you have (tight end) Michael Mayer, have (running back) Kyren Williams, that might be enough.”
Coan is the early favorite to start for Notre Dame in 2021, but Kelly and offensive coordinator Tommy Rees will still give younger options Drew Pyne, Tyler Buchner and Brendon Clark a look before making anything official
Buchner is an early enrollee freshman ranked as the country’s No. 111 overall recruit. Pyne, a top-125 prospect in the 2020 class, was Book’s backup for the latter part of the season and appeared in four games. Clark will be an academic junior this fall, but lingering knee issues held him out of games down the stretch of last season.
“I don’t think he’s good enough where you pencil him in and say he’s our surefire starter,” Miller said of Coan. “If there’s someone good enough to unseat him, it could be a wide-open race.”
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