QB Brandon Wimbush Only Getting Better
Notre Dame quarterback Brandon Wimbush got off to a hot start to the 2017 season as the junior led the Irish to a 4-1 record. The 6-foot-1, 228-pounder was held out of Notre Dame’s 33-10 win over North Carolina in week six due to a foot strain.
Head coach Brian Kelly was confident leading up to the game against the Tar Heels that his quarterback would be fine long-term.
Kelly delivered good news on Tuesday afternoon, as he stated his quarterback was good to go and will start on Saturday as USC comes to South Bend.
“There are no questions about his health, so I think we can put that to rest in terms of how he is,” Kelly stated. “He's 100 percent. There are no health issues at all. I think he continues to grow and develop as a quarterback, in just his, really, his fifth start, right. He'll go into his sixth start.”
Wimbush has thrown for 783 yards and six touchdowns to just two interceptions, but it hasn’t always been pretty as the New Jersey native is completing passes at a 51.9 percent clip. However, Wimbush has also rushed for 402 yards and eight scores.
Kelly isn’t worried about his development as his quarterback hasn’t even started his sixth game.
“We went back, and as know, in these bi-weeks evaluate and self-scout, and he's been really productive in a number of areas for us: Moving the chains, fourth down conversions, third down, big plays,” said Kelly. “He's done a lot of really good things to get us to where we are today, and yeah, there has to be some improvement in some other areas, but from a productivity standpoint, he's done some really good things, and he's only going to get better.”
Notre Dame and USC enter the game as Top 25 teams for the first time since 2009, and the atmosphere inside Notre Dame Stadium will be electric. Wimbush has played in big games, and the pressure shouldn’t be a factor as he returns to the field.
“Each step is a building block or him and being more comfortable and calm in the moment,” explained Kelly. “We've seen that he settles in nicely as the game kind of unfolds. But I think as we kind of, you know, got a chance to kind of sit back a little bit and do a little bit more of the analytics and dive deeper in what he's done; it doesn't jump out at you on film. But his production numbers are really, really interesting in terms of big plays with his feet and big chunk throws, conversions in third and fourth down situations.
“So we just want to keep that confidence level in him and his ability to continue to make those plays, and this will be another step in that maturation process.”
While Wimbush didn’t’ play in the last game, it could have been just the thing he needed to settle in as he got to observe a game from the sidelines after being in the fire for the first time. But, that’s only a question Wimbush can answer.
“You'd have to ask him to get the kind of response or information,” Kelly said when asked if Wimbush benefited from seeing the game from the sidelines. “I know he wanted to try to play the game. His focus was much more about trying to play the game than learning from what transpired in the game. I think if maybe he's a little further along in his process, that maybe he picks up more from the game.
“There was too much angst and anxiety of wanting to play and trying to get in the game and him feeling like he was out of place on the sideline. I don't know that he was totally in the right place in terms of mentally trying to learn things and see things as they unfold.”
One player that can help Wimbush and the Irish offense is receiver Kevin Stepherson. The sophomore from Jacksonville (Fla.) didn’t play in the first four games and has slowly worked his way back into the rotation the last two games.
Stepherson recorded 42 receptions for 462 yards and five touchdowns as a freshman and with more playing time, Wimbush and the Notre Dame passing game could benefit from a genuine No. 2 threat opposite Equanimeous St. Brown.
“I think you probably saw what we saw," said Kelly. "He was somebody that needed to get re-introduced into the game and get back up to game speed, game conditioning, even in a sense it was preseason for him in a lot of ways.
“He's had a really good off-week and this week; you'll see more of him. As we progress over the next half of this season, we expect to see his role increase.”