Analysis: Intriguing Zaire an unfinished product
Malik Zaire was the future of Notre Dame football until he wasn’t. Now he will be the future of some other program as a graduate transfer, though it will likely hew closer to Jacob Coker than Russell Wilson.
Plenty of teams are showing an interest in Zaire, with the redshirt junior reportedly focused on Florida, Michigan State, Pittsburgh, and Wisconsin as his preferred destinations to play out his final season of eligibility. But what will his next suitors really be getting? Zaire only made three starts for the Fighting Irish. Sheer circumstance made him a more well-known figure than his modest resume should warrant.
Zaire drew an entire offseason’s worth of hype after leading Notre Dame past LSU in the 2014 Music City Bowl in his first start. Everyone wondered what he could do with months to prepare and without the specter of displaced incumbent Everett Golson. Zaire seemed as if he would live up to expectations when he torched Texas for 313 yards and three touchdowns in the 2015 season opener, completing 19 of 22 passes for the second-best percentage in school history. But a broken ankle against Virginia in the next game pushed DeShone Kizer into action and ultimately stardom.
The Kizer-Zaire dynamic dominated this past offseason, and coach Brian Kelly vowed to play both quarterbacks, starting with the return game against the Longhorns. Kizer was clearly the better fit, while wasted possessions with Zaire running the offense proved critical in the overtime loss that set the stage for a brutal season in South Bend.
Zaire only attempted 23 passes this season, with a touchdown throw and a missed two-point conversion against USC with the game long since decided in what would be his final action as a Notre Dame quarterback. For his career, Zaire attempted 98 passes in 17 appearances. This isn’t Davis Webb or Trevor Knight transferring with plenty of starting experience under his belt; this is a talented but still largely untested option hitting the open market.
The most successful graduate transfers at the Power 5 level - Wilson, Jake Rudock, Vernon Adams - were able to find systems, coaches, and supporting casts able to immediately maximize their already-honed skill sets and experience. Coker won a national championship with Alabama but needed time to settle in after never seeing meaningful playing time at Florida State. Zaire is somewhere in-between, with enough game action under his belt not to be rattled by the big stage but not yet enough to make him a fully-formed plug-and-play quarterback.
That’s not to say Zaire won’t be a difference-maker for a Power 5 program. He is a decisive runner, elusive in the pocket, and throws well on the run. He's demonstrated a good touch on the deep ball. Zaire would be an immediate upgrade on the Gators’ collection of castoffs, and would offer a higher ceiling than any of the quarterbacks the Spartans used this season. But anyone expecting an immediate high-level starter from day one like what Wilson brought to Madison is in for a surprise given the hype Zaire will generate.
With the track record of graduate transfers and Zaire’s ability, however, it should end up a worthwhile move for both the quarterback and his new school.