If Sunday night's six-touchdown performance left any doubters, DeShone Kizer silenced them on Wednesday.
The Notre Dame redshirt sophomore told reporters that he has been named the Fighting Irish's starting quarterback going forward, edging out senior quarterback Malik Zaire.
Last season, Zaire suffered a season-ending ankle injury early on and Kizer stepped into the starting QB spot for the remainder of the season. Brian Kelly went into this year's opener against Texas planning to play both quarterbacks, but the game quickly turned into a one-man show. Kizer threw for 215 yards, ran for 77 yards and scored six combined touchdowns, five through the air, in the Irish's 50-47 double-overtime loss. Zaire, on the other hand, finished with just 23 total yards.
Kizer has garnered high praise from scouts and analysts, especially on this site. NFL.com analyst Lance Zierlein recently compared Kizer to Titans great Steve McNair, complimenting his "prototypical build", "arm strength" and "decent touch." Even before Kizer was named the starter, NFL.com analyst Daniel Jeremiah said the quarterback was the favorite to win the Heisman.
Notre Dame plays Nevada in South Bend this Saturday.