Kizer Talks Shop With Jon Gruden

Written by Alec Swain

Jon Gruden hosted DeShone Kizer for one of this season’s episodes of Gruden’s QB Camp. Gruden began the episode by being impressed with Kizer’s well-rounded musical tastes. After explaining he could be listening to Chicago, Lil Wayne or Kenny Chesney, Gruden stated, “You might be my favorite quarterback this year.” 

Gruden from the start of the show was quick to recognize the challenges Kizer faced throughout his career at Notre Dame.

“I know a lot about Kizer,” said Gruden. “He had his struggles this year, as did the Fighting Irish, and I know how hard it is to play quarterback at Notre Dame.” 

As Kizer explained, “There was no guide to guide me or a book to read about being the quarterback at Notre Dame.”

However, despite the challenges that come with being the starting quarterback at Notre Dame, Gruden was impressed as he exclaimed, “You can rip the ball into some places that maybe none of us dream about!” 

Kizer’s physical abilities, as well as his overall stature, is what intrigues Gruden.  Kizer was looking to prove something to Gruden during their time together.

“My ultimate goal is for Coach Gruden to respect me intellectually as much as he respects my ability,” the quarterback said. 

Gruden sees potential greatness in Kizer, stating, “He is athletic, has a good memory, has size and a big arm and if he had a little bit of patience, he could do just about anything you could dream of.”

Obviously, Gruden is familiar with Kizer and his capabilities on the field as he went all the way back to Kizer’s high school days to see how he has progressed as a quarterback and as a leader. In response to his high school football days, Kizer was quick to acknowledge playing other sports allowed him to realize he was always going to be one of the more athletic guys on the field. 

Coming out of high school, Kizer explained why Notre Dame was his choice.

“It’s a no-brainer,” he said. “If you’re a quarterback and you have aspirations to play at the highest level, there is no bigger stage than at Notre Dame. The tradition, Knute Rockne, Lou Holtz, all the greatest coaches, they all stemmed within Notre Dame’s campus.” 

However, coaching is another important detail that recruits pay attention to out of high school.

Kizer was quick to praise Brian Kelly and his time with the Notre Dame head coach. 

“One thing about Coach Kelly is he is gonna have standards that are higher than anything you could ever expect,” he said. “He is going to demand greatness out of you. If you don't want to surround yourself by that then he will hold you accountable to that and I don't know if you are playing the right sport.

“Coach Kelly is a guy that pushed me day in and day out to be a great quarterback and, again, I thought my standards were high myself, but he pushed those standards to another level.” 

Kizer’s career at Notre Dame did not start easy.

“At the time, I was honestly considering picking up a baseball again or maybe picking up a bat,” he said. “I spent all that summer trying to figure out what I was gonna do to be the quarterback in 2015. 

“The way that it panned out, Malik Zaire ended up getting the job and playing quite well but the mindset I had that summer is what allowed me to have success when they called my number.”

Kizer was obviously ready for the challenge as he and Gruden went in-depth about his first collegiate appearance in a tough, late-game situation when Zaire went down with a season-ending injury in the second game of the year against Virginia. 

“As far as my preparation, I prepared in those first two games like I was going to play,” Kizer said. “Just knowing myself and my abilities, I knew I was going to have an opportunity at some point. Whether it be in a game situation or unfortunately something like Malik going down.”

What ended up impressing Gruden the most about Kizer’s heroic efforts against the Cavaliers was his poise as he recognized that it was one of the great end-of-game plays in Notre Dame history. 

Gruden quickly turned to the Clemson game. He was intrigued by Notre Dame’s comeback and the last touchdown pass to put the Irish within two points. Gruden asked Kizer to draw the play on the board, which was a mirrored pattern on both sides that Notre Dame likes to run in the red zone.

Gruden’s complimentary comments continued regarding how Kizer was on “the ropes against Virginia, came back against Clemson, recognized the protection problem against Clemson, fixed the play and made a hell of a throw.” 

However, Gruden’s favorite Kizer moment ended up being in the game against Temple, one of the biggest games in Temple’s history. Gruden was astounded by Kizer’s laser of a throw to Will Fuller.

“Look at this throw! Man, that’s unbelievable.” 

Kizer explained.

“It’s called in a power play into the boundary,” he said. “They ended up giving us a look we didn't like, a C-4 situation on backside four guys on the left side of the center. We checked out of it and they checked with us. 

“That’s a bad feeling when they check into a new defense when you check into a new offense for the old defense. With that, we were able to stay committed to it. We thought we were gonna get man on the outside, they got cloud and I'm able to read that safety all night long. He was playing on that front-side hash way too long and just put the ball high and outside and guys like Will Fuller bac home, in his home city of Philly, make plays for us to win games”.

Gruden jumped in, “They are in perfect coverage, man! They are in Cover Two. They got Fuller doubled and you shot that ball between the corner and the safety!” 

This moment was when Kelly started preaching to Kizer about being decisive and doing things well with no second thoughts. Gruden was astounded and it reminded him of a Brett Favre quote when he made a touchdown pass against Cover Two in a similar situation. Favre was asked why he even made the throw and he responded, “Because I can.”

Kizer followed by saying, “The throws that are deemed impossible, those are the throws I want to throw.” 

Many are critical of Kizer and the fact that he left college a year early, saying there was a need for more experience. Kizer explained that it was the right decision for him because “I’m the kind of guy who is driven and I always wanted to put myself in a position to get to those goals and my ultimate goal is to win a Super Bowl and to do that, you got to have on an NFL uniform not a Notre Dame uniform.”

Learning experience is not the only concern for NFL teams, though. 

The abysmal 2016 season has many NFL franchises concerned about Kizer.

“It is easy to look at all the factors around their poor season: the environment, coaching changes, guys heading to the NFL,” he said. “Out of those eight losses probably seven of them we had a chance to make a fourth-quarter comeback and score. I just didn't make enough plays last season.” 

Kizer continued that he ended with a positive view about the resilience of the 2016 team and was proud of them even though he admitted to a lack of killer instinct.

In response, Gruden focused on RCE: Recognition, Communication, and Execution. 

Gruden referenced the Duke game when Kizer’s RCE worked perfectly on a run play inside the red zone.

“To me, that’s big-time,” the coach said. “That’s a guy that’s done the preparation, recognizes the look, communicates and executes.” 

As it relates to the NFL, Gruden’s point was that Kizer needed to take control once he stepped on the field and when he got into the huddle.

Gruden was ready to test Kizer. He took Kizer on the field and challenged him with a 99-yard drive. As Gruden called out situations, coverages and down-and-distances, Kizer seemed to flourish. As the drive finished Gruden took notice with a simple, but meaningful “Nice job, DeShone!” 

Gruden was aware of the threat Kizer possesses in the red zone, comparing Kizer to Cam Newton.

DeShone understands the value of having the ability to run the ball. 

“When you add a quarterback to the run game then you are gonna add an extra hat, the running back, as a blocker,” he said. “So when you are playing low safeties we wanted an extra hat to allow me to push it in for a couple yards.”

Gruden agreed, but was concerned when Kizer ran to his left and exposed his throwing shoulder. 

Gruden was eager to tell Kizer to work on his ball security.

“He tends to flash the ball too much and was lucky to get away with it,” Gruden said before having Kizer do two-hand security drills to work on protecting the football. 

During the drill, Gruden was impressed by Kizer’s sideline awareness and called the ball “TV ready.”

With a last piece of advice Gruden told Kizer, “Do not carry that ball like a loaf of bread.” 

Gruden’s final thoughts on Kizer were impressive.

“I tried to give him a lot of information to see what stuck. I thought he did a great job. He has got the size you look for, he is athletic and he is sharp. He has first-round measurables across the board. If you are into the analytical stuff, he is your guy. I just think he needs a little bit of time. I think a year from now, you'll be really glad you got DeShone Kizer on your team.”