With the Texas Longhorns trending towards holding off on naming a starter at quarterback before the season opener, Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Brian Kelly said Wednesday that both of his contenders for the same job will play on September 4 in Austin.
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Kelly said at Media Day on Wednesday that the decision of picking between the two for one single starter was becoming too hard.
Charlie Strong and the Longhorns will have to plan for two quarterbacks in the season opener against Notre Dame.
Kelly said both quarterbacks have been outstanding through camp, and that more practices would not have created any separation between the two. He says he believes playing two quarterbacks gives the Irish their best chance of winning.
“Both of their skill sets simply have slight differences, but both of them are playmakers”, said Kelly. “If I list our top five playmakers, they’re in it”. “It’s always easier playing one”.
Kelly acknowledged both passers are likely disappointed not to have won the starting job outright in training camp. “I’m watching them in practice and they make plays”. “I can’t put one of those guys on the sideline against Texas”.
“I made the decision this early because it was clear to me the more we practiced, the more they’d make plays”. (Now) they don’t have to worry about a competition for the Texas game.
Zaire began 2015 as the team’s starter, and played a huge role in Notre Dame’s dominant season opening 38-3 win over Texas.
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Kizer, a redshirt sophomore, completed 63 percent of his passes last season for 2,884 yards with 21 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, adding 520 rushing yards and 10 scores on the ground.
