View image | gettyimages.comEven after losing starting quarterback Malik Zaire for the year, Notre Dame head football coach Brian Kelly said he believes his team’s offense will be potent enough with DeShone Kizer signal calling to contend for a national championship.
Kizer went eight of 12 for 92 passing yards and two touchdowns in ND’s victory over Virginia. Kelly said his focus now is to ensure his backup QB is ready to lead for the remainder of the season.
He can win games for us, Kelly said of Kizer, who tossed a 39-yard touchdown to Will Fuller to secure the win over the Cavaliers with 12 seconds on the clock. But I want to win a championship with him. We need to get him to the next level. We lost our starting running back and starting quarterback, but there are a lot of great players around them, Kelly said. DeShone doesn’t have to win it by himself.
This is the second early injury to afflict Notre Dame as tailback Tarean Folston was lost for the season with a torn ACL in Week 1 against Texas.
Kizer noted how well his teammates have adjusted to new quarterbacks in the past, “and now hopefully they’ll adjust to me.”