Notre Dame Football: Is Spring Football A Big Fat Liar?

I know what you’re thinking.

“Dude, it’s fall camp- why are you even bringing this up?”

Because of my actual day job, I work at night (figure that one out). Working into the wee hours of the morning, I have a lot of time to just let my mind wander. Sometimes, I even get a chance to sit down and type it out, but in most cases I have to remember these brain-storming sessions from a sleep-deprived memory. So to answer the question... it’s all relative.

Yesterday, Brian Kelly got in front of the microphone for the kickoff press conference for fall camp. It was fairly predictable, especially given that this was his 7th time doing this at Notre Dame. These guys usually have a “script” of sorts when they address the media in this way, and of course Kelly did his usual Brian Kelly hot takes, jokes, and question-managing that we have grown accustomed to throughout his tenure.

What did kind of stood out to me (maybe more than it should) was that Kelly made several mentions to spring football, and it was much less than positive.

The biggest mention was about Malik Zaire and the type of reps he got. This was supposed to be the beginning of the “quarterback battle” and yet, one of the participants was essentially hamstrung by the coaching staff.

Now, if the staff wants to run one particular offense, this isn’t that big of deal, but the type of offense that Kelly runs has always seemed to be reliant on the best option at quarterback. Why would they NOT put that information in front of them? It all seems like one big lie now. We had heard and saw that DeShone Kizer was still ahead of Zaire, but that was running more of the offense inclined to Kizer’s skills.

In all honesty from my mind, I’m more #TeamKizer by a pretty wide margin, but just the thought of a proclaimed competition not being what it was supposed to be leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Besides QUARTERBACK BATTLE EXTRAVAGANZA one of the bigger things that spring football is supposed to square away is the hierarchy of leadership on the team and to see who fills any void left by players graduating or leaving for the draft. Kelly made mention to this in his press conference, but basically like he was displeased with what was going on and how it was going about. And yet... and yet, the opposite narrative was given in the spring.

Or was it?

Dammit, I’m confusing myself now. Is spring football a big fat lie, or do we as fans take what we want and leave the rest to be forgotten in the melting snows of snow banks in South Bend? I’m not sure if I am even able to answer that right now. I have always been a voice of reason when it comes to spring football, and have preached against taking too much away from the glimpses it shows us each year.

However, the immense space of time between mid-April and August always seems to warp the mind to remember the images and thoughts last shown.

I’m certain that in just a day or two I’ll even begin to forget most of these thoughts, but the “lies” of spring still sit as a shock to the system.

How many days again?