Irish Illustrated’s Pete Sampson offered this hypothetical Tuesday on Twitter. Sampson added Wednesday that he believed Wimbush would have prevailed each year, underscoring his point that this is the best depth in the Brian Kelly era.

Kelly indicated Tuesday that Wimbush would be given an opportunity to compete for the starting spot, backing off comments he made in February to Bruce Feldman that this year’s goal was to sit the sophomore and preserve a year of eligibility. At this point, however, the primary battle is between redshirt sophomore DeShone Kizer and redshirt junior Malik Zaire.

HIGH PRAISE FOR BRANDON WIMBUSH

Rivals.com photo

So, back to the question: Could Wimbush have won the first three QB competitions of the Kelly era? I asked Eric Hansen, the ND football insider for the South Bend Tribune, during his weekly chat, to weigh in:

“[In] 2010, I think Dayne Crist wins it and Wimbush is pushing. [In] 2011, I think Wimbush wins it. [In] 2012, I’ll go with Wimbush too. If Wimbush had more experience with the read option stuff in high school, I would have gone with him in 2010. But Crist, before he was injured twice, was a real talent with some mobility.”

Coming out of high school, recruiting analysts praised Wimbush’s athletic gifts, and, in particular, his strength. Barton Simmons, a national recruiting analyst for 24/7 Sports, said:

“He has the best arm in this class, in my opinion. … I’ll put it this way: There’s no one that can match Brandon Wimbush’s arm talent. He, along with having a real strong arm, showed that he has accuracy as well. He completed an absurd percentage of passes this year as a senior.”

Tom Lemming, the national recruiting director for CBS Sports Network, was equally effusive:

“He’s got a great arm. Precision passer. Terrific runner. Team leader. He’s got the skills to be a Heisman candidate in three years at Notre Dame. That’s how good I think he is. I think also his ceiling is higher than Golson or anyone on the team right now.”

DAYNE CRIST WAS A STAR IN THE MAKING TOO

MarinMedia.org photo

Scouts and coaches may have been high on Wimbush entering college, but they were even higher on Crist, a 6-foot-5 inch, five-star talent from California. Crist was Rivals’ #25 overall player, Scout’s 44th overall player and #8 on Tom Lemming’s Top 100 Recruits. (For comparison, Stanford QB Andrew Luck – who now starts for the Colts – was #28.)

Crist played parts of four games his freshman year (71 snaps) before tearing his ACL in his right knee in a game against Washington State. In Kelly’s first year – and with Clausen now departed – he won the starting role and performed well: 2,033 yards, completed 59 percent of his passes, threw for 15 touchdowns against seven interceptions.

Almost one year to the date of his first-season ending injury, Crist tore his patella tendon in his left knee. He was named the starter the following year, but pulled midway through the first game for sophomore Tommy Rees. Crist saw only sporadic playing time after that.

In Sampson’s theoretical situation, both Crist and Wimbush would be in their second year in 2010 – with Crist having earned snaps the previous fall. I agree with Eric Hansen; Crist seems like the choice for starter in 2010, even if Wimbush is there.

Wimbush is clearly more athletically gifted than Tommy Rees, so the competition in 2011 would have pitted the redshirt freshman against junior Crist – returning from two serious injuries. Rees and true freshman Everett Golson would have also been in the mix. With Crist’s mobility hampered by two injuries, a healthy Wimbush with a year in the system seems like the right choice to begin 2011.

By 2012, Crist has moved on. The battle would have been among junior Tommy Rees, redshirt freshman Everett Golson and true freshman Gunner Kiel. Kiel didn’t play because coaches decided preserving a year of his eligibility would be better than having him mop-up for Golson. Golson beat Rees, so the competition would have been between two redshirt freshman: Golson and Wimbush. Wimbush is taller, stronger, more comfortable running and has a better arm. Wimbush would have started.

WHAT DO THE STATS SAY?

Wimbush has had 28 snaps under center at Notre Dame. This is too small of a sample size to make accurate conclusions, but here’s the output anyway:

CONCLUSION

I agree with Eric Hansen and disagree with Pete Sampson. Crist prevails in 2010, but Wimbush is likely the starter in 2011 or 2012 in Sampson’s hypothetical scenario. That is fantasy. This is reality: I can’t wait to see more of Brandon Wimbush, whether it be this fall or the next one. He’s going to be truly special.

The post Brandon Wimbush As Starter: A Hypothetical appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

Tyler Eifert
Position: Tight End
Year: Senior
Height/Weight: 6’6”/251 lbs.

We all know Eifert’s story – seemingly average recruit; doesn’t play freshman year; fills in when Rudolph gets hurt; turns out to catch everything that is thrown his way; works with Michael Floyd to make Tommy Rees appear to be a serviceable QB; etc. After flirting with the prospect of moving on to the NFL after the 2011, Tyler Eifert chose to stick with his teammates in South Bend.

With the name of the Dublin starter still very much in limbo, Eifert’s ability to create defensive mismatches (particularly on routes of 15-yards or less) could be a must-needed crutch for the 2012 Irish offense. With Michael Floyd now working alongside Larry Fitzgerald in Arizona, and without an established threat at receiver to fill his shoes, Eifert will likely be even more of a focal point to the ND attack than he was in 2011 when he caught 63 balls for 803 yards and 5 touchdowns.

Other than the clairvoyant among us, not too many Domers would have expected Eifert to turn into a better pass-catching college tight end (the NFL may offer a different story) than his predecessor Kyle Rudolph, but he has the opportunity to cement that legacy this season. For his next surprise, let’s hope and dream that Eifert decides to snub the pros once again and come back for a 5th go-around donning the blue and gold.

Zach Ertz and Levine Toilolo
Positions: Tight End
Year: Both Seniors
Height/Weight: Ertz – 6’6”/252 lbs.; Toilolo – 6’8”/265 lbs.

Stanford returns two of the mainstays in its 3-man tight end rotation (with Coby Fleener joining his pal Andrew Luck in Indianapolis) in seniors Zach Ertz and Levine Toilolo. Last season Ertz caught 27 balls for 346 yards and 4 touchdowns while missing 4 games with an injury, and Toilolo snagged 25 passes for 343 yards and 6 touchdowns.

It is difficult to quantify, but it is not a stretch to say that these numbers were handicapped by the combination of the top quarterback in the country, one of the top tight ends in the country drawing most of the attention, and a lack of many threats at wide receiver. While the talent level may have dropped, we can still expect Stanford’s tight ends to play a big role in David Shaw’s offensive scheme this year with both Ertz and Toilolo offering safe, effective targets to the winner of the Brett Nottingham/Josh Nunes quarterback battle.

Toilolo was named to the Mackey Award Watch List (along with 3 other Notre Dame opponents including Hubie Graham of Pitt, Chris Pantale of Boston College, and Dion Sims of Michigan State) after earning honorable mention all-conference last season.

Similarly to how the Irish utilize Eifert, you’ll likely see Ertz lining up outside as well:

Previously in the Know Thyself, Know Thy Enemy series:

Kicker & Punter
Offensive Line
Defensive Line
Safety
Wide Receiver
Cornerback
Running Back

As always, you can follow Twibby on Twitter: @HLS_Twibby

The post Know Thyself, Know Thy Enemy: Tight End appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.