7/23/2021 football Edit

Notre Dame’s Top 25 Most Important Players, No. 3: Jack Coan

Patrick Engel • InsideNDSports

Beat Writer

Throughout July, BlueandGold.com will feature a countdown of the 25 most pivotal figures counted on to help lead Notre Dame back to the College Football Playoff in 2021.

This is not necessarily about who is the best player or the top pro prospect. It’s more along the lines of individuals that need to either emerge, remain a centerpiece or significantly elevate their production to help Irish reach that goal.

Much is based on talent and impact, but a premium is also placed on these questions: 1) If you subtracted this individual from the roster, how much of a setback would it be? 2) If this less proven player emerges and makes an impact, how much does that raise the ceiling (or lower it, if a breakout does not happen as expected)?

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Notre Dame Fighting Irish football quarterback Jack Coan — Coan completed 18 of 32 passes for 197 yards in the Blue-Gold Game May 1. (Robert Franklin/AP)

The players and their rankings were determined by vote from five BlueandGold.com staff members.

Next in the countdown is grad transfer quarterback Jack Coan, who collected 113 points in our poll.

Why Coan Is Ranked No. 3

Notre Dame may not have a returning starter at quarterback, but it has an experienced contender for the job in Coan. The former Wisconsin starter helped lead the Badgers to a 10-4 record in 2019, a Big Ten West title and a Rose Bowl appearance. He’s the favorite to start for Notre Dame this year after transferring in January.

With Coan in the fold, the Irish won’t head into the season with two returners who have taken a combined college 62 snaps and two freshmen as their quarterbacks. Instead, they bring in a veteran who completed 69.6 percent of his passes for 2,727 yards with 18 touchdowns and five interceptions in 2019. He missed 2020 due to a foot injury.

Coan isn’t Ian Book, but that’s not entirely a bad thing. He’s not the improviser or runner Book is, nor does he own all of Book’s accolades. He is, though, a comfortable pocket passer who sees the field well and can throw accurately when he knows a rusher is about to hit him.

“One of Jack’s strengths is playing from the pocket,” offensive coordinator Tommy Rees said in the spring. “He has excellent feel in terms of when to climb up, when to slide, when to move. His eyes never seem to dip. He does a nice job of keeping a level of focus down the field and being able to drive the ball to different areas of the field.

“Is he the creator or runner Ian is? Probably not. Does he do some things in the pocket where he’s able to operate there that maybe Ian didn’t always do? Probably. But they’re both good players in their own right, and it’s going to be a different approach in how the quarterback position is coached.”

Different doesn’t have to be anything other than different as long as Notre Dame’s offense functions. Perhaps it could mean better, but it’s too early to assume that now.

Coan plays the game’s important position, which is enough reason on its own to place him in the top five. At the same time, though, there’s not the same certainty around him as there was with Book. He’s also not the formal starter. And graduate transfer quarterbacks who go from one Power Five school to another aren’t automatic hits.

Furthermore, sophomore Drew Pyne’s journey this offseason from default backup to real contender makes one wonder just how steep the drop-off would be if he started.

Coan’s Status Entering The Season

It would be a surprise if Coan doesn’t start when Notre Dame opens the season Sept. 5 at Florida State. It’s not formal yet, though. Brian Kelly declined to name a starter exiting spring.

“I’ve always felt like when it’s clearly in the best interest of the team and morale and can influence you moving forward, you should probably name a quarterback,” Kelly said before the Blue-Gold Game. “I don’t know that we’re in that position right now.”

Coan’s experience advantage, though, is hard to ignore. The questions around him entering fall camp should have more to do with how much better he looks than the others and his potential staying power in the job than if he can win it.

Yet camp has provided surprises before. The player Coan is trying to replace wasn’t supposed to be more than a backup, much less usurp one top-100 prospect, ward off another, lead Notre Dame to a pair of College Football Playoff appearances and become the program’s all-time winningest quarterback.

What Would Be A Successful Individual Season?

If Notre Dame’s offense is functional with Coan as its pilot, he’s a success. If he makes the passing attack better than the 2020 unit, he’s a standout. It’s easier to put in those terms than set statistical barometers or expectations for him based off his 2019 Wisconsin production. Rees, in fact, discourages doing so.

“To just look at Jack Coan’s stat line from Wisconsin and say he’s a certain guy because of the system he was in would be a very lazy perspective,” Rees said. “He’s very talented. I’ve been a lot of guys who have played at this level and he throws it as well as anyone I’ve been around at Notre Dame.”

Adding Coan elevated the floor for Notre Dame’s 2021 offense. Can he raise its ceiling? If so, he was a success no matter what his stats say.

Behind The Ranking

The top 25 was determined in the same manner as the Associated Press top 25. Five BlueandGold.com staff members submitted their ballots, and each position on the ballot was given a point value. The top ranking was worth 25 points, No. 2 was worth 24, No. 3 worth 23 and so on down until No. 25, which was worth one point. The players with the 25 highest point totals made the list.

Individual rankings

Patrick Engel: 2

Tyler Horka: 6

Mike Singer: 1

Todd Burlage: 1

Steve Downey: 7