Notre Dame's DeShone Kizer and Malik Zaire will both play in opener
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- One of the nation's most intriguing position battles has ended without a definitive winner, as Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said Wednesday that quarterbacksDeShone Kizer and Malik Zairewill both play in the Fighting Irish's opener at TexasonSept. 4.
Kelly said both quarterbacks have been outstanding through camp and that more practices would not have created any separation between the two. The seventh-year Irish coach conceded that each player might be unhappy that the job is not his to keep, but he said the decision was made with the best interest of the team in mind.
Kelly saidthat both quarterbacks are among his best playmakers and that he would "definitely" consider playing both on the field at the same time.
"It was just counterintuitive for me to take one of them off the field at the expense of putting somebody else on the field for so many more plays," he said."These two guys are too good.
"I'm just watching them in practice every day and they're making plays -- and then watching our other players around them and they're clearly not as good as these two guys."
Zaire, a redshirt junior, returned this spring after breaking his right ankle in Week 2 at Virginia last season. After Zaire's injury, Kizer went 8-3 as a starter.
Zaire is 3-0 as a starter, including a 19-for-22, 313-yard performance in last year's opener, which was also against Texas.
"It's not the most ideal situation, but as a pro, you gotta deal with the cards you were dealt and make something happen. My whole goal is to turn chicken crap into chicken salad," Zaire said, laughing.
"The whole point is we want to win as a team and we want to do this together, and it's going to take more than just me, so we need the other 10 guys on the field to make that happen."
Kizer, a redshirt sophomore, completed 63 percent of his passes last season for 2,884 yards, with 21 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He added 520 rushing yards and 10 scores on the ground.
"Coach Kelly has put forth his word that it's best to have us both on the field," Kizer said. "And however that works is up to him. And he's been doing it for 26 years now, so I'm just going to trust his instincts, and whenever he feels the right guy needs to be out there, I'm sure he'll make that decision."
Asked if it was his goal to make this a one-quarterback system, Kizer replied: "Absolutely. There's supposed to be one quarterback on the field at one time, and I committed here, and I decided to play college football so I can be that one guy."
"When you decide to play this position, especially at this level," Kizer continued, "you have to have the desire to be the only guy out there and to truly take credit for all the good and all the bad that happens within the team; that's a part of being the complete quarterback, and in order to do so, I would love for it to be just me."
