"We want to be an elite offense" - Notre Dame QB Ian Book
Notre Dame quarterback Ian Book was ready when his name was called on Saturday.
The 6-foot, 203-pounder got his first start of the year and didn’t disappoint in Notre Dame’s 56-27 win over Wake Forest. Book completed 25-of-34 passes for 325 yards and two touchdowns but also rushed for 43 yards and three more scores.
Book knew there was some talk of him starting early in the week but he prepared as usual despite the added adrenaline throughout the week.
“There was some talk on Monday, but I don’t know if I can say much about it,” Book said of when he found out he was going to be the starter. “Every week I try to prepare like I’m the starter and when my name is called, I need to play at my best and make sure the offense can succeed. Every week I prepare like I’m going to go in.”
While Book’s stat line might surprise some, the California native admits there were plenty of plays he left on the field despite the Irish offense racking up 566 total yards.
“Every day I’m working to get better,” stated Book. “There are still a lot of plays I want back. There are things when we go into the film room that will be hard to watch. I have to get better at those. I feel like I’ve made some improvements, but I have a long way to go.”
Notre Dame scored touchdowns on four consecutive drives twice on Saturday and getting the offense into a rhythm was something Book wanted to do this week.
“It felt good to get in a rhythm,” Book explained. “We wanted to bring some tempo, and I felt the offense did that. Just getting into a rhythm was really good to see for our offense. We didn’t let up in the second half, and it was something we wanted to do. Keep scoring and applying the pressure.
“I’m happy with the guys on offense, but we have a lot of work to do.”
Book also admitted there were some nerves heading into the start, but he believes it was a good thing.
“It’s good to have nerves,” said Book. “You should be a little nervous. We know week in and week out our preparation will get us ready. There shouldn’t be anything you should be worried about. I was really confident, but I had some nerves the first couple plays. I hadn’t been out there for the whole game for a while.”
Head coach Brian Kelly didn’t name a starting quarterback in his post-game press conference, but Book is more than ready to embrace the role if it’s given to him.
“I came here to be the starter,” said Book. “It’s up to the coaches. They’ll play the best quarterback to win, and we’re all one team. I’m not worried. I know they’ll make the right decision. We’re here to get wins week in and week out.”
“We want to be better and score more points. We want to be an elite offense. It starts again tomorrow.”