Notre Dame Football: 5 reasons Ian Book should start for Irish in 2018
By Jacob Wilson
1. Book is a better fit for Chip Long’s offense
One of the reasons Brian Kelly brought offensive coordinator Chip Long onto his staff was due to his offensive efficiency during his time at Memphis. Long, who held the same position with the Tigers, helped lead Memphis to one of its strongest offensive finishes in years. The Tigers would finish 15th in the nation in points per game under Long in 2016.
Quarterback Riley Ferguson thrived under Long in 2016, completing 63 percent of his passes for 3,698 yards, 32 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. Similarly to Book, Ferguson didn’t offer much in the run game, instead utilizing the majority of his talents as a passer.
Long did his best to implement a run-first offense around Wimbush, but it was clear early on that his best work would come with a pro-style quarterback under center. With Wimbush failing to meet that criteria, look for Long to mold an even stronger offense around the trigger-happy Book. With Wimbush seeming to have outlived his usefulness for the Irish, this could certainly be the case.
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Just to reiterate, I’m not suggesting that Book will be the savior of Notre Dame’s program, but that he simply offers more promise when compared to Wimbush. We’ve seen a lot from Wimbush, with many fans claiming that they’ve seen enough. With the highly touted Phil Jurkovec on his way, Book should be able to serve as a capable stopgap if nothing else.