We are breaking down the Notre Dame football prospects ahead of the NFL Draft which begins on Thursday, April 29th in Cleveland, Ohio. There will be no NFL Combine this year due to the pandemic. However, Notre Dame will hold its Pro Day on March 31st at 12:00 PM in South Bend.

Next up, the quarterback with the most wins in Notre Dame history.

SPECS

Name: Ian Book
Position: QB
Height: 6-0 (per the Senior Bowl)
Weight: 210 (per the Senior Bowl)
Hometown: El Dorado Hills, CA

STATS

YEAR COMP ATT YDS TD INT
2017 46 75 456 4 4
2018 214 314 2628 19 7
2019 240 399 3034 34 6
2020 228 353 2830 15 3
TOTAL 728 1141 8948 72 20

BIO:

Notre Dame was debating whether to take a quarterback in the 2016 class when Ian Book engineered a stealth visit to South Bend as a Washington State commit and later gave his verbal to the Irish in August 2015. He would redshirt as a distant 4th-string quarterback behind DeShone Kizer, Malik Zaire, and Brandon Wimbush seemingly years away from seeing the field.

When Kizer and Zaire left town after an embattled 2016 it was Book who moved into the backup role for 2017 seeing quality action in a start against North Carolina and against Miami for a pulled Wimbush. Heading into 2018, Book’s role as a backup looked locked in but he was given the starting job in game 4 and never looked back for the next 2.5 years.

STRENGTHS:

Serene and poised. Leads by example. Accurate in the short-to-intermediate part of the field. Nice and compact throwing motion. Good base and smooth delivery when he sets his feet and is an excellent thrower on the run. Extremely nimble in the pocket and excels being elusive and darting away from pressure. A very good and tough runner who makes big plays with his feet.

WEAKNESSES:

Very poor arm strength, especially when he throws off-platform. Short and doesn’t see the middle of the field very well. Too skittish in the pocket. Not trusting enough in good blocking. Too often struggled making his second or third reads. Has shown flashes of a decent deep ball but doesn’t let it rip enough nor have the natural arm strength to make this a consistent part of his game in the NFL.

OVERVIEW:

I believe I was the first person in the Notre Dame world to call for Book to replace Wimbush back in 2018 and never in the preceding 2.5 years of football did I think that Ian Book would get drafted. After just finishing typing out his weaknesses I still think no way is he getting picked.

However, it seems like there’s a far better chance of it happening than not. One could argue that it doesn’t really matter much if you’re a pick on the last day or a priority free agent signing, especially as a quarterback. An interesting note is that Book has almost 10 inch hands which is more common for quarterbacks who are 6’2″ or 6’3″ and that jumped out to me. Although he’s short he has some freaky athleticism to him that will help him possibly survive in the pro ranks.

PREDICTION:

7th Round, 247th Overall to the Washington Football Team

I originally had Book going to Washington, especially after they released Alex Smith. They have a new 2-year cap-friendly deal signed with Taylor Heinicke plus a restricted free agent tendered offer for Kyle Allen, too.

It’s unlikely that Book jumps right into a backup role and truthfully he may struggle to make a 52-man roster for a year or 2 if he even sticks around in the NFL. Washington doesn’t have a long-term solution at quarterback so taking Book with their final pick does make some sense.

Washington did just sign Ryan Fitzpatrick to a 1-year $10 million deal to essentially be their starter which probably lowers Book’s odds of heading to the franchise. But, I don’t think anyone is looking to the Notre Dame man as their future and Washington has 2 picks in the 7th round to take a chance on Book as a backup down the line.

More Scouting Reports to Come:

Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah
Liam Eichenberg