Notre Dame Is Loaded with Talent and Question Marks

The world's introduction to Notre Dame's DeShone Kizer came under the most unfortunate of circumstances. The freshman replaced star quarterback Malik Zaire—the signal-caller of a team that had the appearance of a national championship contender—in the third quarter of the second game of the 2015 season, against Virginia.

Zaire had suffered a broken ankle, and would go on to miss the rest of the season. Meanwhile, Notre Dame faced a devastating collapse. The Irish gave up a late touchdown to the lowly Cavaliers, and trailed 27-26.

But with just 20 seconds left, in his first-ever college game, Kizer delivered a perfect 39-yard strike to Will Fuller, ensuring a Notre Dame victory.

Kizer's success didn't stop there. He ranked in the top 25 nationally in both yards per attempt and passer rating; alongside freshman running back Josh Adams, he helped the Irish become a top ten offense according to the metrics used by Football Outsiders, which include efficiency and explosiveness. That offense carried Notre Dame to a ten-win season and the Fiesta Bowl, despite the absence of Zaire and preseason starting tailback Tarean Folston, who was injured against Texas.

In 2016, Kizer and Adams will be back. So will Zaire and Folston. And that means Notre Dame will be one of the most interesting teams of the college football season, because while we know the names and faces in the Irish backfield, we have absolutely no idea how coach Brian Kelly will mesh all that talent into a coherent whole.

Last season, despite having to start 19 different defenders due to injuries, Notre Dame thrived against a brutal schedule: their only losses came at the hands of Rose Bowl champion Stanford, College Football Playoff runner-up Clemson, and Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl. It was a crazy ride and, at the very least, 2016 promises more of the same.

Notre Dame's offense wasn't just good in 2015; it was also fun. The Irish ranked fourth nationally in "success rate," meaning they could march down the field when they needed to, but they also ranked fourth in explosiveness.

Even before the season, Notre Dame looked like a team that could sling it. While former quarterback Everett Golson was a dink-and-dunk quarterback, Zaire was one of the leaders of the "fuck it, I'm going deep" club; better still, he actually was successful with that strategy. In his one full game, Zaire demolished Texas with 313 yards and three touchdowns on 19-of-22 passing—an incredible 14.23 yards per attempt.

Kizer just continued what Zaire started, backed by a running game that, according to Football Outsiders, was the most efficient in the country; Adams set a Notre Dame freshman record with 835 rushing yards.

Kelly's challenge this year won't be scoring points. It will be keeping all of his backfield talent content. And that could be tricky.

Zaire is often considered Notre Dame's most proven quarterback, but he wasn't a starter until the bowl game of the 2014 season. He beat out the incumbent Golson in the spring of 2015, prompting Golson to transfer; dominated Texas; and then got hurt. Kizer came into 2015 as Zaire's backup, but now has more starting experience under his belt.

We know that both quarterbacks aren't afraid to sling it downfield, and that both can make plays when the offense breaks down. Will they play together? Will they play situationally? The answers, like a deep ball, are up in the air. Kelly has said that he wants to focus on one quarterback, but he has played two before, and he still (publicly) has no idea what to do about this conundrum.

"I can't keep them both happy. Somebody's going to be unhappy," he said. "I love them both. They both are committed. They are both great competitors. But somebody's going to be unhappy."

Now move to running back. Folston had the job all locked up in August 2015, and then he got hurt. That opened the door for Adams, who set a school record with a 98-yard touchdown run that featured a double-stiff-arm so sweet it got its own mash-up:

Folston was the incumbent, and a starter losing his job to injury is always an iffy proposition, but can Adams really be denied? One of the most explosive running backs in the country, he finished with an incredible 7.8 highlight yards per opportunity, according to SB Nation's Bill Connelly. Who's going to keep him off the field?

At receiver, Notre Dame has unexpected questions. You know the name of the leading returning receiver: Torii Hunter Jr., the son of the former baseball star. He's (fittingly) king of one-handed catches, as displayed here with a ball thrown by Zaire.

The primary returning receiver was supposed to be student body president Corey Robinson, the son of NBA Hall of Fame center David Robinson, who can make catches like this:

In June, Robinson announced that he was retiring from football due to multiple concussions. According to the Chicago Tribune, he will remain with the team as a student assistant coach this fall. But Notre Dame will miss his 6-foot-5, 215-pound frame, which made 16 catches for 200 yards and one touchdown in 11 games last season.

Beyond Robinson's absence, there are good reasons to wonder whether the Irish can repeat last season's success. Nearly everyone on Notre Dame's defensive depth chart got to start last year—accumulating valuable in-game experience—but most of the team's best defenders are gone. The Irish's schedule is easier than last year's, but it includes potentially tough games at Texas and USC, and at home against Michigan State and Stanford. Notre Dame can't do any worse than 3-1 in those contests if it hopes to be included in the College Football Playoff.

Many college football fans love Notre Dame, and many love to hate them. In a way, 2016 should make both camps excited: win or lose, this year's squad will be eminently watchable. They have their best players of the 2015 offseason returning from injury, along with their maybe-better replacements. Notre Dame will be very good in 2016—possibly good enough to contend for a national championship. How will the Irish get there? There's no way to find out without tuning in, because nobody knows quite yet.

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