Mike, nice job on this article. I found it informative and well balanced without inserting unrealistic expectations for Brandon. Well done.
Photo by Rick Kimball/ISD
Notre Dame Football
Scouting the Roster: Brandon Wimbush
Player name: Brandon Wimbush
Player position: Quarterback
Years left of eligibility: 3 years
Projected rank on depth chart: There is no question Wimbush will be the starter in 2017.
Player productivity so far: Wimbush has played very little for Notre Dame thus far. He sat out all of the 2016 season in a redshirt year, and his only experience was in 2015 where he completed 3-of-5 passes for 17 yards. He ran the ball for 7 times for 96 yards and a TD with a long of 58 yards. He doesn’t have a lot of live game experience.
What player does best: He’s a fantastic runner. Extremely explosive. Gets moving quick and can turn laterally very well. The has the potential to be the best running quarterback Notre Dame has had since Arnaz Battle or Carlyle Holiday. Wimbush has a very strong arm. He’s very accurate in short to midrange passes. He’s very well liked by his teammates, and should be a strong team leader candidate. Wimbush doesn’t seem to get rattled by pressure, and he seems very much in command of the offense while on the field. We didn’t see one instance this spring where the coaches had to stop practice because some offensive player wasn’t lined up right, or didn’t have the correct play call.
What player needs to work on: Wimbush doesn’t have the best touch on the deep ball. He’s not very accurate in this regard at this point. He has plenty of arm to throw it 80 yards, but his timing and loft sometimes appears off. In the past, he put too much muscle on shorter throws, but he showed dramatic improvement on touch on the shorter throws this spring, including to the flat and check downs. The junior quarterback also tends to be a bit slow through his progressions. He needs to make quicker decisions, but that always takes time when a quarterback starts gaining playing experience.
Productivity of former Irish players and the top players in the country at player’s position:
2016 DeShone Kizer: 145 QB rating. 212-361 (58.7%), 2,925 yards, 26 TDs, 9 INT. 129 rushes, 472 yards, 8 TDs rushing. ND as a team allowed 28 sacks. Team rushed for 18 total TDs.
2015 DeShone Kizer: 150 QB rating. 211-335 (63%), 2,884 yards, 21 TDs, 10 INT. 134 rushes, 520 yards, 10 TDs rushing. ND allowed 26 sacks. Team rushed for 29 rushing TDs on the season.
2013 Tom Rees (senior season): 135.4 QB rating. 224-414 (54.1%), 3,257 yards, 27 TDs, 13 INT. ND allowed only 8 sacks on the season. ND rushed for just 12 TDs.
2011Tom Rees (first season): 133.4 QB rating. 269-411 (65.5%), 2,871 yards, 20 TDs, 14 INT. ND allowed 17 sacks on the season, ND rushed for 25 TDs
2005 Brady Quinn (first year Weis): 158 QB rating 292-450 (65%), 3.919 yards, 32 TDs. 7 INT.
2004 Brady Quinn (first season): 125 QB rating (Willingham), 191-353 (54%), 2,586 yards, 17 TDS, 10 INT.
2016 Baker Mayfield (Okla—Jr.) 196.4 QB rating. 254-358 (71%), 3,965 yards, 40 TDs, 8 INT. The Sooners allowed 21 sacks on the year. OU rushed for 237 yards per game and scored 30 rushing TDs on the year.
2016 Jake Browning (Wash—Soph) 167.5 QB rating. 243-391(62%), 3,430 yards, 43TDs, 9 INT. The Huskies allowed 26 sacks on the year. Washington rushed for 198 yards per game and 24 rushing TDs.
2016 Sam Darnold (USC—Frosh) 161 QB rating. 246-366 (67%), 3,086 yards, 31 TDs, 9 INT. The Trojans allowed just 12 sacks on the season. USC rushed for 200 yards per game, 18 TDs on the year.
Rick Kimball/ISD
What can we hope for? I have to believe that Wimbush’s ability to run has to be a big positive for Notre Dame’s running game. If you look at the comparisons above for Kizer and Rees, when ND can run the football, ND usually has a good season at QB as well. If you also notice that the above players mentioned also had very good running games last season. My guess with four returning starters up front, and at least two with high draft prognosis, if not all four (or even five with Kraemer), three quality running backs ready to contribute, one has to believe ND will focus on the run quite a bit this year. What does that mean?
That means less pressure on a first-time starting QB, which is a good thing. If Notre Dame can run the football, Irish receivers are going to be open, and the windows to throw into will likely not be as tight. A good running game will open the door for Wimbush to have a good season throwing the football. He has all the physical tools to be a quality passer. He showed a lot of progress from the previous year as a passer. He does need to fine-tune a few things, but he also showed great command and leadership this spring. Irish receivers should be more productive this season than last with more experience, but I do think there is room for growth with that group as well.
What is a realistic expectation? I think with every first-time starting QB, you’re pretty much guaranteed 10 INTs throughout the year. The key will be: when and where are they going to occur? Will it be a tipped pass versus Wake with ND up by 20, or will it be as ND is driving for the winning TD against Stanford? It’s important Wimbush’s turnovers, which are inevitable, don’t cost Notre Dame points. When points will be important due to a suspect defense, it will be important for ND and Wimbush to maximize every scoring opportunity they can get.
As for yards and touchdowns, etc., I think one key stat will be rushing touchdowns. If Notre Dame commits to running the ball in the red zone more, I expect Wimbush to have quite a few rushing TDs. It would not surprise me to see him log 10-12 TDs on the ground, if not more. I’d also like to see around 700 yards rushing. With his kind of explosiveness and elusiveness, I think he has the opportunity to pick up bigger chunks of yardage than Kizer had, and that should increase his overall yardage total.
Passing, I think a good target number would be 60% completion, around 3,000 yards and 22 TDs. I think those are all reasonable/reachable numbers, especially if Notre Dame has a good running game. If you look at Kizer’s first-year numbers, they were very similar. I will be surprised if he doesn’t actually pass those numbers, but I do think they’re good expectations for him.
What about the future? The future for Wimbush is very bright. My guess is we’ll see him lead the Irish for two seasons and then he’ll be gone. He will have his degree in hand after his second season, and my guess is quite the NFL future ahead. How much of an impact can he have in two seasons? It’s a shame because I’m not sure ND will have the team to build around what could be a potential Championship type of talent at QB. Those types of players don’t come around often, but I think Wimbush has that kind of ability, and the respect and leadership qualities the very best QBs have. I see back-to-back 10-11 win seasons for Wimbush, but I’m not sure he’ll have the team to support him on a Championship run.
Player position: Quarterback
Years left of eligibility: 3 years
Projected rank on depth chart: There is no question Wimbush will be the starter in 2017.
Player productivity so far: Wimbush has played very little for Notre Dame thus far. He sat out all of the 2016 season in a redshirt year, and his only experience was in 2015 where he completed 3-of-5 passes for 17 yards. He ran the ball for 7 times for 96 yards and a TD with a long of 58 yards. He doesn’t have a lot of live game experience.
What player does best: He’s a fantastic runner. Extremely explosive. Gets moving quick and can turn laterally very well. The has the potential to be the best running quarterback Notre Dame has had since Arnaz Battle or Carlyle Holiday. Wimbush has a very strong arm. He’s very accurate in short to midrange passes. He’s very well liked by his teammates, and should be a strong team leader candidate. Wimbush doesn’t seem to get rattled by pressure, and he seems very much in command of the offense while on the field. We didn’t see one instance this spring where the coaches had to stop practice because some offensive player wasn’t lined up right, or didn’t have the correct play call.
What player needs to work on: Wimbush doesn’t have the best touch on the deep ball. He’s not very accurate in this regard at this point. He has plenty of arm to throw it 80 yards, but his timing and loft sometimes appears off. In the past, he put too much muscle on shorter throws, but he showed dramatic improvement on touch on the shorter throws this spring, including to the flat and check downs. The junior quarterback also tends to be a bit slow through his progressions. He needs to make quicker decisions, but that always takes time when a quarterback starts gaining playing experience.
Productivity of former Irish players and the top players in the country at player’s position:
2016 DeShone Kizer: 145 QB rating. 212-361 (58.7%), 2,925 yards, 26 TDs, 9 INT. 129 rushes, 472 yards, 8 TDs rushing. ND as a team allowed 28 sacks. Team rushed for 18 total TDs.
2015 DeShone Kizer: 150 QB rating. 211-335 (63%), 2,884 yards, 21 TDs, 10 INT. 134 rushes, 520 yards, 10 TDs rushing. ND allowed 26 sacks. Team rushed for 29 rushing TDs on the season.
2013 Tom Rees (senior season): 135.4 QB rating. 224-414 (54.1%), 3,257 yards, 27 TDs, 13 INT. ND allowed only 8 sacks on the season. ND rushed for just 12 TDs.
2011Tom Rees (first season): 133.4 QB rating. 269-411 (65.5%), 2,871 yards, 20 TDs, 14 INT. ND allowed 17 sacks on the season, ND rushed for 25 TDs
2005 Brady Quinn (first year Weis): 158 QB rating 292-450 (65%), 3.919 yards, 32 TDs. 7 INT.
2004 Brady Quinn (first season): 125 QB rating (Willingham), 191-353 (54%), 2,586 yards, 17 TDS, 10 INT.
2016 Baker Mayfield (Okla—Jr.) 196.4 QB rating. 254-358 (71%), 3,965 yards, 40 TDs, 8 INT. The Sooners allowed 21 sacks on the year. OU rushed for 237 yards per game and scored 30 rushing TDs on the year.
2016 Jake Browning (Wash—Soph) 167.5 QB rating. 243-391(62%), 3,430 yards, 43TDs, 9 INT. The Huskies allowed 26 sacks on the year. Washington rushed for 198 yards per game and 24 rushing TDs.
2016 Sam Darnold (USC—Frosh) 161 QB rating. 246-366 (67%), 3,086 yards, 31 TDs, 9 INT. The Trojans allowed just 12 sacks on the season. USC rushed for 200 yards per game, 18 TDs on the year.
Rick Kimball/ISD
What can we hope for? I have to believe that Wimbush’s ability to run has to be a big positive for Notre Dame’s running game. If you look at the comparisons above for Kizer and Rees, when ND can run the football, ND usually has a good season at QB as well. If you also notice that the above players mentioned also had very good running games last season. My guess with four returning starters up front, and at least two with high draft prognosis, if not all four (or even five with Kraemer), three quality running backs ready to contribute, one has to believe ND will focus on the run quite a bit this year. What does that mean?
That means less pressure on a first-time starting QB, which is a good thing. If Notre Dame can run the football, Irish receivers are going to be open, and the windows to throw into will likely not be as tight. A good running game will open the door for Wimbush to have a good season throwing the football. He has all the physical tools to be a quality passer. He showed a lot of progress from the previous year as a passer. He does need to fine-tune a few things, but he also showed great command and leadership this spring. Irish receivers should be more productive this season than last with more experience, but I do think there is room for growth with that group as well.
What is a realistic expectation? I think with every first-time starting QB, you’re pretty much guaranteed 10 INTs throughout the year. The key will be: when and where are they going to occur? Will it be a tipped pass versus Wake with ND up by 20, or will it be as ND is driving for the winning TD against Stanford? It’s important Wimbush’s turnovers, which are inevitable, don’t cost Notre Dame points. When points will be important due to a suspect defense, it will be important for ND and Wimbush to maximize every scoring opportunity they can get.
As for yards and touchdowns, etc., I think one key stat will be rushing touchdowns. If Notre Dame commits to running the ball in the red zone more, I expect Wimbush to have quite a few rushing TDs. It would not surprise me to see him log 10-12 TDs on the ground, if not more. I’d also like to see around 700 yards rushing. With his kind of explosiveness and elusiveness, I think he has the opportunity to pick up bigger chunks of yardage than Kizer had, and that should increase his overall yardage total.
Passing, I think a good target number would be 60% completion, around 3,000 yards and 22 TDs. I think those are all reasonable/reachable numbers, especially if Notre Dame has a good running game. If you look at Kizer’s first-year numbers, they were very similar. I will be surprised if he doesn’t actually pass those numbers, but I do think they’re good expectations for him.
What about the future? The future for Wimbush is very bright. My guess is we’ll see him lead the Irish for two seasons and then he’ll be gone. He will have his degree in hand after his second season, and my guess is quite the NFL future ahead. How much of an impact can he have in two seasons? It’s a shame because I’m not sure ND will have the team to build around what could be a potential Championship type of talent at QB. Those types of players don’t come around often, but I think Wimbush has that kind of ability, and the respect and leadership qualities the very best QBs have. I see back-to-back 10-11 win seasons for Wimbush, but I’m not sure he’ll have the team to support him on a Championship run.
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