After coming off their disappointing 4-8 season in 2016, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish had what many would consider an exceptional bounce-back year, going 10-3. They were able to pick up their 10th win in a thrilling, albeit sloppy, 21-17 victory over the LSU Tigers in the Citrus Bowl. An element that contributed a good deal to this was the subpar play of redshirt sophomore quarterback Brandon Wimbush, who completed only 3 out of 8 passing attempts for 52 yards.

Redshirt freshman quarterback Ian Book was called upon to give the struggling Irish offense a boost. Book had seen action in 10 games this season, including a start against North Carolina. Luckily for Notre Dame, Book was able to provide that boost. The six-foot quarterback went 14 for 19, with 164 yards and a pair of touchdown passes, including the game-winning 55-yard pass to Miles Boykin with under two minutes left in the game.

Now it’s no secret to anyone who’s been watching the Fighting Irish all season that Wimbush has not by any means been a very efficient passer. That claim can be backed up by his sub-par 49.5 completion percentage, including just 39 percent over the team’s last two games.

Book, on the other hand, has shown a bit more promise as an efficient passer this season, highlighted of course by the aforementioned two touchdown pass performance to win the Citrus Bowl.

It is important to note that Wimbush did still manage to have a huge impact on his team’s offense throughout the season with his running ability. He gained 804 yards on the ground and added 14 touchdowns, both of which are team records.

Keeping those two in mind, along with the incoming 6’6 4-star recruit Phil Jurkovec, going into 2018 the Fighting finds themselves faced with a bit of a dilemma over who starts at quarterback going into next season, something head coach Brian Kelly has been used during his time at Notre Dame.

Of course, the Irish have their plate full with questions about their offense going in next season. They have to replace 80% of their offensive line, including highly touted NFL prospects Mike McGlinchey and Quenton Nelson.  On top of that, there was also the recent announcement of top running back Josh Adams (1,430 yards, 9 touchdowns) and leading receiver Equanimeous St. Brown (33 receptions, 515 yards, 4 touchdowns) leaving early to declare for the NFL draft.

There are already some potential candidates that have shown promise at these positions, such as the aforementioned Miles Boykin at receiver, as well as the always reliable and hard running Dexter Williams in the backfield. As with Boykin, Williams was also able to have a major impact on the Fighting Irish offense in his limited action in the Citrus Bowl with just 2 carries for 36 yards.

If there’s one thing Brian Kelly needs to do in order to have a successful season in 2018 it is to get Dexter Williams more carries. Over the past three years, Williams has dealt with not only with injuries, but also sharing carries with the likes of C.J Prosise, Tarean Folston, and of course Josh Adams. Despite that though, Williams has always managed to put up an exceptional yards per carrying ratio, including 9.2 this season. He has clearly demonstrated his strong balance of power and explosiveness and will be a vital part of Notre Dame having sort of success in 2018.