The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are one of the most storied programs in the history of college football, but some coaches around the country have pretty strong opinions about the team from South Bend, Indiana.
Athlon Sports gathered comments from coaches, who chose to stay anonymous, about Brian Kelly’s Fighting Irish team.
All of them seemed to have good things to say about the team, especially the two standout players at quarterback, Malik Zaire and DeShone Kizer.
“I didn’t see [Malik] Zaire in person, but I’d buy stock in [DeShone] Kizer based on what I saw last year,” one coach told the site. “He’s more accurate throwing the ball downfield, and he’s a mentally tough kid who doesn’t seem to get rattled by anything. If they can protect him, he gives them an opportunity to run more of the Brian Kelly playbook, which they really had to scale down for the last guy.”
One coach discussed how the Fighting Irish have some pretty great talent, but he doesn’t believe in the team as a national power. He said the team isn’t in the top tier of programs like Ohio State and Alabama.
“They have talent, but I don’t think they’re on the same level as the Ohio States and Alabamas,” another coach added. “With the truly marquee players, kids just aren’t as fired up about Notre Dame, and he’s taken guys who are just a notch below what I feel like are the truly elite kids in the country.”
The Fighting Irish always seems to be in the mix for the national title, but it doesn’t seem like they will be among the top tier this year. It should be interesting to see what the Fighting Irish does when they open the 2016 season on Sept. 4 at Texas.
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