Notre Dame Football: 5 reasons Ian Book should start for Irish in 2018

4. Book has displayed significant resiliency

One of the strongest threats to an athlete’s success can be his or her mentality. In Book’s case, he seems to have the ability to put his mistakes behind him, something that can greatly benefit a young quarterback. While we don’t have nearly a large enough sample size to understand Book’s true emotional intelligence, what we’ve seen so far has been nothing short of encouraging.

Book’s game-winning drive against LSU was impressive enough, but it’s even more impressive considering what took place prior to him entering the field that day. Book’s first snaps came in Notre Dame’s loss to Georgia, but it was against North Carolina that Book saw his first meaningful action as an Irish quarterback.

Book’s lackluster performance in this game would be masked by solid defensive play, but the sophomore’s statline still read 146 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions at the end of the game. Book would go on to throw another interception in the team’s loss to Miami, moving his touchdown to interception ratio to 2:3.

The rest would be history as the California native went on to complete over 70 percent of his passes for 164 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. This kind of poise and mental stamina can go a long way for a young starter, especially if he has the support of his coaches and teammates.