Texas Football: Flirting with Malik Zaire could have long-term consequences
By Ryan McNeill
Word has leaked that Texas football is interested in Notre Dame quarterback transfer Malik Zaire, but it could be a huge mistake.
There’s nothing wrong with flirting with the pretty girl in class.
Better yet, when you’re the new kid in class, you have the rare opportunity to throw caution to the wind and go for what you truly want. It’s the perfect opportunity to leave your past behind and make a fresh start.
Being the new kid in town is the perfect opportunity to leave your past behind and make a fresh start.
It appears Tom Herman is willing to do that as the new football coach of Texas football as word leaked that Texas has contacted former Notre Dame quarterback and transfer target Malik Zaire.
What caught me off guard about this news is freshman quarterback Shane Buechele is coming off of a fantastic season. Despite all the turmoil surround whether the school would fire Charlie Strong and being a freshman playing for one of the prominent programs in the country, Buechele led Texas to prominent wins over Notre Dame and Baylor while throwing for 2,958 yards, 21 touchdowns and completing 60.4 percent of his passes. Heady stuff for any freshman quarterback.
So, despite being the new kid in Austin, Herman is already dating the hot girl in town. Why ruin a good relationship attempting a hail mary at landing another girl you like?
It’s not a wise move by Herman to allow news of his flirting with Zaire to gain national headlines.
Logically, Herman should be sitting pretty with Buechele for the next two or three seasons. Clearly, there’s something Herman dislikes about Buechele’s game while admiring something in Zaire’s game.
My first assumption was that Zaire is able to make first downs with his feet while Buechele only ran for 151 yards last season. Zaire is known for being able to run for first downs, but he ran for 3.8 yards last season on 20 rushing attempts. Even more concerning, according to CFB Stats, he only picked up four first downs last season rushing the ball.
According to the same site, Buechele picked up 17 first downs with his feet.
Maybe it’s that Zaire has more college experience? That’s not the case either as Buechele started from the opening game and started 12 games last season. Zaire, meanwhile, only saw the field for 43 snaps.
Zaire only started two games during his three seasons playing for Notre Dame.
It’s also worth noting that Zaire hasn’t been the same player since he broke his ankle his sophomore season.
Going back to Buechele, it will be interesting to see if this news of his school flirting with Zaire will impact his confidence regardless of if Zaire lands in Texas next season.
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If things backfire with his attempts to flirt with Zaire, then Herman’s first big gamble in Austin will be a Texas-sized mistake.