Notre Dame Football: Brian Kelly And His Two Quarterbacks

As reported on Inside the Irish, Brian Kelly has softened his stance on the quarterback situation. For most of the offseason, I think a large portion of Notre Dame Fighting Irish fans believed that the Irish would have a true "starter" in time for the Texas game. We were all kind of pulled that way, weren’t we? In his recent interview with Jim Rome, Brian Kelly stated:

"I think you need two. You’re going to need two quarterbacks in college football. You need two and we’ve got two very good ones. My expectation is that we need both of them to play."

"I think it’s so important to have two quarterbacks, be engaged, keep them involved and as much as they can try to get them in the game if you can. It’s a lot more difficult if you can do that. But thats the way it is in college football, with the quarterback being so actively involved in the running game."

And so begins what we should have expected all along. Brian Kelly can’t and won’t allow himself to go with one guy. Even when he appears that he will, his hook is ready to use at any moment he deems necessary.

Is this a bad thing though? After all, Kelly has had a great deal of success when using two quarterbacks. Cincinnati played its very best under Brian Kelly when both Zach Collaros and Tony Pike played, and of course, Notre Dame’s run for the championship in 2012 with Tommy Rees and Everett Golson. These have been the two best teams that Brian Kelly has coached (best meaning best record), and both were years in which fate happened in the form of- OH HEY HERE IS THIS QUARTERBACK THAT I NEED.

I realize the fanbase is still clamoring for one quarterback or the other, and to be honest... HOW DO YOU NOT START DESHONE KIZER? But, I digress. The truth is, is that this will be very much like every quarterback decision for Kelly since his arrival at Notre Dame.

"You can’t change your identity week to week, you’ve got to be who you are. These two quarterbacks are proven winners. The team knows that. I’m not going to have a quarterback controversy. I think we can move forward knowing that both of them are going to play in some fashion."

And there you go. More of the same, and that’s not too bad. Agree?