Saturday Blitz
Fansided

Florida Football: 5 reasons why Malik Zaire isn’t guaranteed to start

By Connor Muldowney

Sep 5, 2015; South Bend, IN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Malik Zaire (8) throws a pass against the Texas Longhorns at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 5, 2015; South Bend, IN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Malik Zaire (8) throws a pass against the Texas Longhorns at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 5
Next
Sep 5, 2015; South Bend, IN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Malik Zaire (8) throws a pass against the Texas Longhorns at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 5, 2015; South Bend, IN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Malik Zaire (8) throws a pass against the Texas Longhorns at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports /

2. Malik Zaire is unproven

I know what you’re thinking already, “But hasn’t Malik Zaire started for a major college program already?”

The answer? Yes, he has. He was 2-0 in his first full season as a starter and looked like a true Heisman candidate during his first career start against Texas in 2015. He passed for 313 yards and three touchdowns on 19-of-22 completions while beating the Longhorns 38-3.

After that start, the Heisman hype train was just getting started. However, he struggled in the next game, starting out just 7-for-18 for 115 yards and a touchdown at Virginia, on the verge of an upset loss. Then he got injured. This was the major injury that ended his season and it came in Week 2.

All-in-all he attempted just 40 passes in 2015. He completed just 11-of-23 before losing snaps, for good, to DeShone Kizer in 2016 as it was obvious he hadn’t completely regained his confidence after the injury.

Throughout his Notre Dame career, he attempted just 98 passes and accounted for 816 yards and six touchdowns. That’s not exactly the stat line of a proven, guaranteed starter.

Home/Florida Gators