Wimbush Ready to Roll

The last two years were tough on Brandon Wimbush as he was waiting for his time to be QB1 at Notre Dame. As a freshman, the 6-foot-2, 226-pounder played in two games backing up DeShone Kizer, but in 2016, Wimbush didn’t play a snap as he was stuck behind Kizer and Malik Zaire.

On Thursday, Wimbush admitted he didn’t know what his role would be until about a month after the 2016 season ended.

“I didn’t even know until maybe the beginning of January,” Wimbush said of being the starting quarterback. “I was ready to prepare myself to compete for another year as DeShone had two years of eligibility left, and I didn’t know what Malik was doing. I wish the best to each of them, and I am very excited for this opportunity.”

Despite Wimbush not knowing his future, the New Jersey was going to be ready no matter the situation awaiting him when he returned from winter break.

“I feel like it’s the same mentality,” explained Wimbush. “If you prepare yourself, then you don’t have to get prepared. I feel like I did that for the past two years and I was able to take away things from DeShone and Malik.

“DeShone was put into a position where he had to be prepared, and he was. He did it successfully, and I learned a lot from him in that scenario.”

Kizer has made sure to keep in touch with Wimbush while training for the NFL. The two speak often, and Wimbush is soaking up as much knowledge from his friend as he can.  

“I speak to him pretty often, and we have a good relationship,” Wimbush said. “He has talked a lot about what he has gone through here and what the NFL process is like for him. He has great pointers for me, and whenever he has time to speak to me about anything, he lets me know the real stuff.”

Wimbush has taken many lessons away from Kizer, but one attribute sticks out more than the others. The ability to work hard in the quarterback room was a big emphasis for Kizer, and it’s one Wimbush hopes to apply in 2017.  

“I always envied the way DeShone went about his business every day inside the meeting room,” stated Wimbush. “The way he applied what we had gone over in the meeting room to the field was what made him successful.”

Former Notre Dame quarterbacks are all around Wimbush as his quarterback coach is Tom Rees. The two have started to develop a solid relationship because Wimbush has made a conscious effort to get extra time in the film room this offseason.
 
“I love him,” Wimbush said of Rees. “I He is 25-26 years old, so he is fresh out, and he knows Coach Kelly’s offense. We get along pretty well.

“He’ll definitely bring up clips of himself in some big-time games. There were a lot of clutch moments he remembered from his time.”  

While Wimbush adjusts to a role and new coaches, the former St. Peter’s Prep star will also be adjusting to somewhat of a new offense.

“I feel like my tempo in high school was very similar and the type of offense with the RPOs was very similar,” Wimbush explained on Thursday. “I feel my transition is going back into my memory and recalling some of the things I did in high school.

“Teams aren’t going to load the box because we have so many weapons outside. We have four guys up front returning. Hopefully, we will be able to run the ball against any defense or front we see.”  

Notre Dame expected to run the ball with ease last year with a talented offensive line, but it never came to fruition. Wimbush has faith in his offensive line, but also his talented running back corps to help him out.

“We have so many good backs, and the guys up front are so powerful,” said Wimbush. “I feel like we are going to be a powerful run team. I feel like a lot of my runs with come off the defense preparing for Josh (Adams), Dexter (Williams), and Tony (Jones). Hopefully, they will let use my legs to cause some damage.”  

Wimbush kept his skills sharp last fall as he moved down to scout team at times and while it might not seem like much, those reps could pay dividends this fall.
 
“It was live reps for me that I wasn’t getting throughout the year,” Wimbush said of working on scout team. “I think it was for Virginia Tech and Miami, so they had me emulating those quarterbacks, and I tried to help the defense as much as I could.

“To be able to down there and get live reps was huge for me going into this season. Alizè (Jones), Tony and the offensive line were doing a great job for me.”