To Be The Man: Part 2 of QB Expectations at Notre Dame

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“To be the man, ya gotta beat the man! Wooo!!!” Ric Flair multiple times before he proved that he was, in fact, The Man.

Last time, we looked at men who came to Notre Dame with “The Man” moniker attached to them. As we saw, it was a mixed bag. Today, we look at the unheralded QBs who, if even for a brief moment, became starters. Coming to Notre Dame with little to no expectation of starting, these guys weren’t suppose to be the standard bearer of Our Lady. Nevertheless, they rose through the ranks and led ND and that is something.

In this article, I’ll outline what made them unheralded, how they became The Man, their memorable moments, and how they broke our hearts. So strap on your boots and get ready to ride Space Mountain because it’s gonna be one helluva ride! Woooo!!!!

Matt Lovecchio

Unheralded Status: He was in the same recruiting class as “The Man” Carlyle Holiday. Obviously, he was just supposed to be a filler guy. His greatest achievement would be as target practice for Bob Davie’s defenders from Monday to Friday.

To Be The Man: In 2000, Arnaz Battle fractured his wrist, Gary Godsey looked just okay at QB (though he did beat Drew “I own a PG-13 Hooters” Brees). Davie didn’t want to burn Holiday’s redshirt and threw Matt to the wolves against Ty Willingham’s Stanford Cardinal. He didn’t look back

Memorable Moments: Went 7-0 in his regular season starts in 2000, which included a victory over USC. That win got the Irish a birth in their first BCS Bowl game, a date with Oregon State in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.

Heartbreak: Getting blindsided in said bowl game worse than Sting anytime he trusted Flair. He would be replaced by Carlyle Holiday after two bad starts for Bob Davie’s greatest team ever in 2001.

Overall Record: 7-3. We’ll always have that magical fall, you New Jersey prince.

Pat Dillingham

Unheralded Status: Dude was a walk-on. He spurned his future HC and a scholarship offer from Stanford to come and never be remembered for anything good or bad. Nope, nothing memorable would ever be done by the hands of Drew Pyne’s father.

To Be The Man: He replaced Carlyle Holiday late in the Michigan State game due to injury, started the Stanford game and played in a handful of others when the need arose. It’s like Terry “Red Rooster” Taylor replacing Flair because The Nature Boy had one two many martinis and went home with a lady named Fifi.

Memorable Moment: Throwing a slant pass to former QB Arnaz Battle for a TD to finally beat Michigan State. It ended 5 years of miserable beatdowns at the hands of Sparty. To be fair, Battle did most of the work here. However, the pass had to be completed and it was a beauty.

Heartbreak: Came into a miserably tight game against BC and threw a pass right at a Boston College linebacker. This directly led to the end of an 8-0 start and any hopes of a national title. Subsequently, any and all ND fans who had recovered from 1993’s BC game had to check back into Surrender Cobra Rehab Center for the Heartbroken.

Overall Record: 1-0, but we all know what this man did.

Evan Sharpley

Unheralded Status: He was just someone Chuck Weis needed to get on the roster in case Michigan kidnapped Brady Quinn. Basically, he was to ND what Paul Roma was to the Horsemen.

To Be The Man: Demetrius Jones couldn’t embrace the schematic advantage and got pulled halfway through the first game of the season.

Memorable Moment: Was a big part of a good 2006 ND baseball team that won the Big East and made Regionals. Dude was a gem on the diamond.

Heartbreak: Well, anything in 2007. There’s a clip on YouTube from the GT game where Morgan Burnette runs 20 yards straight at him and Sharpley just stands there. Looks like the castle guards who got merc’d by Lancelot in Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Told us everything we needed to know about that year.

Overall Record: 0-2, but contributed heavily in several other losses in 2007. Unfortunately the taint of ‘07 is something you just can’t wash off.

Demetrius Jones

Unheralded Status: He actually had some impressive accolades in high school, but he was sandwiched between Brady Quinn and Jimmy Clausen. At best, he would be a stop gap from one “The Man” to the next.

To Be The Man: Charlie Weis claimed he made the most plays and named him starter one week before the 2007 season started. He was also well liked by his teammates.

Memorable Moment: Proved that Charlie Weis was not a genius before the end of the first quarter of game one in 2007. This kid had tons of talent coming out of high school, Chuck had a year to work and develop him into the system that best fit him, and he failed miserably. At least we all knew what we had at that point.

Heartbreak: He lost more fumbles than he completed passes in his time as starter, which only lasted less than a quarter. Jesus.

Overall Record: 0-1. Real shame. If you go back and read about his time in high school, he could have been something special. Schematic advantage my ass. It’s like what could have been had Magmun TA not gotten into that car accident.

Tommy Rees

Unheralded Status: He was recruited by a coach who would be fired a few months later. Also, Andrew Hendrix was in the same class and was higher rated. Dude was supposed to hold a clipboard and learn how to coach.

To Be The Man: He got a glimpse in the Michigan game, throwing an interception on a terrible play call by Brian Kelly. ND tried to open up a Nostalgia Gold Mine by inserting Nate Montana, but he didn’t have the juice. Later Tommy would replace Dayne Crist due to injury and save the 2010 season. He then replaced Dayne again in 2011 due to ineptitude and did okay. He then got replaced by Everett Golson in 2012 due to shenanigans with SBPD. He then played the closer role throughout that season. Finally, he replaced Everett due to mysterious academic malfeasance. What a rollercoaster.

Memorable Moment: I mean, the guy was remarkably unremarkable as a player, so my favorite moment is him yelling at Pat Dilingham’s love child. That was some Arn Anderson level of fury.

Heartbreak: I won’t lay Tulsa at his feet because that was Brian “Get Use To It” Kelly’s fault. However, 2011’s Oklahoma felt like we really saw that Tommy just wasn’t going to get any better. Two INTs in the first two drives. And yet we wanted to believe the Reesus narrative going into 2013.

Overall Record: 23-8. Amazing record considering how mid of a talent the guy was.

Everett Golson

Unheralded Status: He was considered a project. Dayne Crist was still on campus and Gunner Kiel was on the way. Felt like BK was pulling a Chuck Weis and getting a talented but raw player to bridge the gap between greatness.

To Be The Man: Tommy Rees’ aforementioned dalliance with the SBPD. I don’t know if it was that Rees got popped for underage drinking and resisting arrest or that BK finally realized how terrible of a scrambler he was. Dude couldn’t evade Rod Farva.

Memorable Moment: Leading ND to their first National Championship game since 1988. Sure he had help from an elite defense and the “closer” Tommy Rees, but Manti Teo couldn’t score all the points. He also led ND back against Pitt to save that season. That after being benched in that game. Showed a lot of resolve and leadership to pull himself and the team up off the mat to get to 9-0

Heartbreak: Having a beautiful TD pass to Corey Robinson negated by a garbage Offensive Pass Interference. It’s like Dusty Rhodes anytime he beat Ric Flair. The refs screwed him and reversed the decision. After that, Golson’s stats fall off a cliff.

Overall Record: 17-6. Another really great record over a decent sample. Maybe BK wasn’t such a bad coach. I mean, terrible person for sure. But that’s two underrated QBs that turned out better than expected.

Malik Zaire

Unheralded Status: He was supposed to be an upgrade from Golson. However, Everett’s great 2012 and Gunner Kiel still being on the team for a blip meant Zaire would have to wait a while. Probably a Kevin McDougal senior run if he was lucky and stuck it out.

To Be The Man: Everett imploded in late 2014 after everyone started getting hurt and Arizona State broke his confidence. Zaire assumed the starting role in the bowl game and mostly led ND to the win over LSU and Les “where’s my chest” Miles.

Memorable Moment: Whooping Texas’ ass in the season opener. He looked more athletic than Golson and more accurate than any QB since Jimmy Clausen left. Just avoid any weird ankle roll ups, and we’ve got ourselves a shot at the title.

Hearbreak: The injury the next week against Virginia sucked, but BK’s dangling him as QB 1b just destroyed any chance of 2016 being successful. The whole situation ruined the team chemistry. It was like the time WCW asked Ric Flair to shave his head and go by the name Spartacus.

Overall Record: 3-0 as a starter, but his insertion into the Texas and Stanford games in 2016 cost ND those games. Thanks a lot Brian.

Deshone Kizer

Unheralded Status: He was a clone of Zaire, who had a small shot to start. Most believed Kizer would just be a quality backup. Maybe he could switch positions to Tight End a la Gary Godsey? Starting QB, though? Nahh.

To Be The Man: Zaire got rolled up in week 2 of 2015. Zaire came in and Brian Kelly never should have looked back.

Memorable Moment: I mean, the end of 2015 Virginia finish? The USC game? The Temple game where ESPN was in the tank for the Owls and Kizer did the Eagles dance before shushing the crowd? Swagger, man. Also, anytime he made a big play and then just ran down the field with his hands in the air to embrace his receiver. Just a big kid having fun.

Heartbreak: Everything in 2016. How BK didn’t go all in on Kizer from the get go in 2016 is egregious. Should have gotten him fired. Right out of a cannon. I know what we got in 2017 onwards, but that QB handling was Weis levels of ineptitude. It’s like Bret Hart coming into WCW after the Montreal Screwjob to play referee so Hogan can have one more run.

Overall Record: 12-11. Such a shame considering that he is one of the most statistically impressive QBS at ND this century. Stats ain’t everything. Just go ask Jimmy Clausen. You need a coach who knows how to wipe his own ass.

Ian Book

Unheralded Status He felt like a throwaway recruit that would spend his days on the practice squad. Maybe he would get to shine in the 2019 senior game backing up Phil Jurkovec (yes, I know that Phil was not on the team at the time.).

To Be The Man: Brian tried to square peg his round hole by making Brandon Wimbush into a pocket passer in the Ball State game in 2018. It clearly messed with his head and Wimbush got benched after the next week. The Ian Book era would commence. It also was the longest tenure of the BK era and longest since Brady Quinn.

Memorable Moment: Pick one. The two wins against USC? The 2019 Virginia Tech comeback? Two CFP Semifinal appearances?! Oh, yeah. Beating Number 1 Clemson in 2020!!!! Who gives a shit if Lawrence and Neck Roll didn’t play? Winners win with the players they got. The Irish had Book and we won that damn game. Get over it unless it’s a part of your self flagellation ritual to shit on your favorite team. If so, I respect your religious observance.

Heartbreak: Unfortunately, he looked limited and overwhelmed in both CFP Semifinals as well as the ACC title game. He also got spanked by Michigan and couldn’t overcome Georgia on the road. Those five losses fed the narrative that ND was good/great but not elite. Lex Luger comes to mind because even when he won the big one, he lost it less than a week later.

Overall Record: 30-5. Winningest QB in the history of the program. Did so after ND basically had to rebuild after the dreadful 2016 season. Any highlight package of ND’s greatest moments will include him. Accept it. Cope.

Drew Dillingham Pyne

Unheralded Status: C’mon. Google Drew Pyne Spring Game and search the pictures. He didn’t even think he was supposed to be the man the way he let that jelly roll dance in spring 2022. Also, that gold chain he sported. Just needed a turtle neck.

To Be The Man: I have no idea. He can do the Connor McGregor strut? He didn’t let his ineptitude break his confidence? Really, Buchner got hurt and Marcus made his first bad decision of his tenure by not picking Steve Angeli. I even warned about it in the summer. Felt like Verne Gagne putting the title on his son in the dying days of the AWA. Scott Hall was right there, man!

Memorable Moment: Stepping into the Wisconsin game in 2021 when Jack Coan went down. He played decent and didn’t cost us that game. There. I did it. I said something nice about the guy.

Heartbreak: Skirting out of ND because Hartman was coming. The audacity after the season he had. He quit and has bounced around ever since.

Overall Record: 8-2. Truly amazing. Don’t tell me that ND isn’t a solid program if they could squeeze an 80% winning percentage out of this turd.

Steve Angeli

Unheralded Status: I guess nobody ever believed in him. Dude only got a chance because nobody was left.

To Be The Man: Was he really ever? He got to start in the 2023 bowl game against Oregon State and played really well. Sure, it was against their JV squad; but Steve played like he wanted to be the starter. He needed to be the starter. He never got to be the starter again.

Memorable Moment: That one drive against Penn State last year. It showed his flaws (holding onto the ball, too long when he could have thrown it away/scrambled), but it also showed his talent (6-7 passing, moving the chains on 3rd and short). Up until that drive, ND had done nothing. Steve didn’t win that game, but that drive lit the fuse.

Heartbreak: The sacks (in garbage time, mostly) where he clearly had a blind spot. Never got over it and so he never got a chance. Tully Blanchard always being a tag team/midcard specialist knows your pain.

Overall Record: 1-0. Thanks for the memories, Angel Eyes.

So what is the overall record of this ragtag group of QBS?

101-37 (.731) or a Pinstripe Bowl after playing for the National Title the previous year.

Kenny Minchey

Unheralded Status: He came to ND at a time when The Transfer Portal has been more desirable than developing recruits. Not bashing the portal, just stating the facts of Minchey’s situation. Also, The Man is already here. C J Carr is a higher rated and more hyped QB. Plus he has more eligibility. Plus he throws a really nice dime. That’s a lot to overcome.

To Be The Man: C J gets hurt or plays terrible to start the season. Either that or Marcus sees something in Minchey in the fall that he can’t deny.

Whether we get Minchey or Carr, I just want to have a good season. I am also bored without the sport I love. That’s why you got these two exhaustive (and probably exhausting) articles to read. I hope you enjoy them and I look forward to them having no effect on the outcome of the season whatsoever.