Notre Dame Football: Projected depth chart after 2018 NSD

Quarterbacks

Starting quarterback: Brandon Wimbush

Backups: Ian Book, Avery Davis

Perhaps one of the most heavily anticipated decisions of the 2018 offseason, it is my belief that Brandon Wimbush will be the starter come day one. As much as I hope to see junior Ian Book out there for Notre Dame’s first possession, I expect Kelly to take a conservative approach here.

After watching both of these players over the course of 2017, it’s clear that Book gives the Irish the best chance to win the big games. However, Wimbush’s run-heavy approach does give the Irish a better chance of claiming victory over lesser opponents. To make sense of why Wimbush may get the call Week 1, here’s a list of Notre Dame’s first few games of 2018.

Week 1: Michigan

Week 2: Ball State

Week 3: Vanderbilt

Week 4: Wake Forest

While the Irish will take on Stanford in late September, Wimbush would have a fairly benign schedule to start off the regular season. Should he do enough to take down Michigan, it should be smooth sailing until matchups against Stanford and Virginia Tech. The issues with Wimbush have always surrounded his confidence, so a strong push into the heart of the season could do him well.

Nevertheless, there are significant arguments from both the Wimbush and Book camps. I would personally like to see what Book has to offer as we wait for Phil Jurkovec to develop, but I can understand Kelly’s hesitancy to commit to the former despite the part he played in the team’s Citrus Bowl victory over LSU.

Avery Davis coming in at third on the depth chart is more of a formality than anything else, as I really don’t see a window for him to start considering what we’ve seen from both Wimbush and Book along with the hopeful emergence of Jurkovec. However, Davis could make some noise should Jurkovec hold out in 2019 as well.

Next: Latest pre-Combine first round NFL Mock Draft

All things considered, there’s a significant chance that we see either Wimbush or Book take the first snaps for Notre Dame next season. Regardless of who you would rather see out on the field, I think most Notre Dame fans can agree that they’ve seen the quarterback-by-committee approach utilized far too often by Kelly. Either way, most eyes will be on Jurkovec and his highly anticipated 2019 debut.