Jack Coan Named Notre Dame Starting Quarterback

Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly named transfer Jack Coan as his starting quarterback

In an expected move, head coach Brian Kelly today named graduate transfer Jack Coan as the starting quarterback at Notre Dame for the 2021 season.

"All three quarterbacks distinguished themselves in the spring and preseason camp," Kelly said in a tweet. "Clearly, each has the skills necessary to lead, but Jack proved to be more consistent and therefore, going into our opener, gives us the best chance for success.

Jack Coan will be our starting QB.

All three quarterbacks distinguished themselves in the spring and preseason camp. Clearly, each has the skills necessary to lead, but Jack proved to be more consistent and therefore, going into our opener, gives us the best chance for success.

— Brian Kelly (@CoachBrianKelly) August 14, 2021

Coan transferred to Notre Dame in January after spending four seasons at Wisconsin. He started for the Badgers in 2019, leading the squad to 10 wins, a trip to the Big Ten championship game and a berth to the Rose Bowl. During that season Coan completed 69.6% of his passes for 2,727 yards and 18 touchdowns to go with a 151.76 quarterback rating.

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The last quarterback to complete passes at a higher rate or to post a higher quarterback rating in a Badger uniform was Russell Wilson back in 2011. In fact, no starting Wisconsin quarterback between Coan and Wilson came within five percent of Coan's completion rate.

Coan led the Wisconsin offense to 34.1 points per game, the program's highest mark since 2014. Wisconsin averaged 29.7 points per game the season prior to Coan taking over and 25.1 points in 2020, a season he missed due to injury.

Coan is a smart and accurate quarterback that shows excellent anticipation and ball placement skills on film. He could help improve Notre Dame's vertical passing game and as Kelly recently pointed out he's a better athlete than often given credit for. Before becoming a coveted football recruit out of New York, Coan first committed to Notre Dame in high school to play lacrosse.

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