Notre Dame Football: QB Pick Will Bring Debate and Hopefully Consistency

The 2012 football season for Notre Dame is shaping up to be more of a building block than the preceding season, a stepping stone back to perennial BCS qualification. A year ago, most were expecting a coronation and were disappointed by the 8-5 mark the squad posted.

So, expectations are considerably lowered. Questions linger about the offensive back field, the receiving corps and the defensive secondary.

Questions about new faces in many key places coupled with a gauntlet schedule that will feature at minimum a pair of preseason top-five opponents has quelled BCS expectations in all but the most diehard of Kool-Aid drinkers.

The position that is earning the most attention, as it probably should, is the position most responsible for Notre Dame's six losses in 2011. Quarterback play for the Irish has been a bit of a roller-coaster ride.

Three players tried their hand at guiding the Irish, each with decidedly mixed results.

As a group Tommy Rees, Dayne Crist and Andrew Hendrix completed 63.8 percent of their throws, passed for 3,284 yards and 21 touchdowns.

But they were also responsible for five lost fumbles and 17 interceptions.

Rees was the poster boy for inconsistency this season, never really managing to turn great stretches of play into a great game, let alone series of games. He was always prone to the big mistake.

Rees had nine turnovers inside the opponents' 25-yard line and several in the end zone. All seemed to come at the worst possible moment.

On the whole, Rees' stat line doesn't look all that terrible: 269-of-411 passing (65.5 percent), 2,871 yards for 20 touchdowns with 17 interceptions and a rating of 133.4.

By far, Rees was statistically the best QB on the field for Notre Dame this year. Believe it or not, he had the highest completion percentage (Crist: 62 percent, Hendrix: 48.6 percent) and the better yards per completion.

Still, Rees is hardly comparable to a top-level quarterback.

Heisman winner Robert Griffin III hit on 72 percent of his 402 attempts for 4,239 yards and 37 touchdowns with only six picks. Everybody's All-American and future deity Andrew Luck racked up 3,571 yards on 404 attempts, connecting on 71.3 percent for 37 touchdowns and 10 picks.

Quarterbacks that make a difference in college tend to hit closer to 70 percent of their throws, have a roughly 3:1 touchdowns-to-interceptions ratio and about 8.5 yards per attempt.

Rees led Irish quarterbacks with 6.9 yards per throw.

Most will credit Rees with having "moxie," maybe having heart. Few will tout him as being athletic. Or "gifted."

Even fewer will be expecting him to begin the 2012 campaign as the starter.

Still, he is the only member of this year's four-headed monster that has started a game as a collegiate quarterback. He has nearly all the experience, and despite failing every eye test in the book, has given less statistical reason to worry than has Andrew Hendrix.

Hendrix, who much better fits the bill—tall, athletic, cannon for an arm—really only shined on one long run against Air Force.

He completed only 48 percent of his passes, most of which were designed screens and one-read throws. His best passing effort was in the second half at Stanford, in which he threw for 192 yards and his first collegiate touchdown, but still only hit on 45 percent of his throws.

More troubling is the fact that all season, head coach Brian Kelly wanted a change-of-pace QB to offset the statuesque Rees' lack of mobility. Hendrix was untrusted to fill that role due to what was considered a limited understanding of the offense.

Hendrix's proponents will point to his attributes and argue that his limited playing time suggests Kelly's favorable stance toward Rees. But it is more likely that a lifelong college football coach who is charged to rebuild the sport's most storied program is going to play the QB that gives him the best chance to win.

And it wasn't Hendrix.

Entering the fray this year will be Everett Golson and Gunner Kiel. Both totally inexperienced, untested and highly anticipated.

Golson is a strong-armed, highly athletic sophomore who better than anyone fits the bill for a spread offense quarterback. His highlight reel shows a great amount of mobility, with good field vision and extreme accuracy both downfield and on short timing routes.

Kiel is the picture of a prototypical quarterback. Big. Strong. Good arm. Mobile. Accurate. Confident (he chose to wear No. 1 playing quarterback at the University of Notre Dame...I guess No. bulls-eye was unavailable?).

Kelly has to realize that each quarterback brings anxiety.

Rees has all the experience, but has clearly hit his ceiling. He doesn't possess the arm or mobility to evolve into a solid starter that a young team can rely on to make the big play in a big spot.

Hendrix looks the part, but something is missing. He has had opportunity to advance up the depth chart, but for whatever reason was not able.

Still, Hendrix at least has a ton of room for growth. He has only seen limited playing time, and there is no reason to assume that he has gotten as good as he could ever be.

Golson struggled in the classroom and has had zero snaps in live action. He is slight, listed at 6'1" and 185 pounds; here is worry as to how he will hold up to the pounding that he is likely to take, as his mobility allows him to extend plays.

Yet, Golson moves with a fluidity usually seen from wideouts. His footwork and mechanics are superb. He throws the total package and seems to do it with ease.

Kiel enters as the top QB recruit in the nation. His recruitment tale reads more like he was evading capture than selecting a school. He is also the most schooled and coached quarterback since Jimmy Clausen, having had every aspect of his game manicured from an early age.

It is hard to peg Kiel's remaining growth potential, but still, he has every attribute you would look for in a quarterback.

Kelly cannot make a "safe" choice. There cannot be a thought of preserving eligibility or favoring experience.

Quite simply, the best must play.