Opinion: QB Jack Coan gives Notre Dame hope with promising Irish debut
Jack Coan rolled into his first Notre Dame postgame media scrum, lauding an offensive line that had just surrendered four sacks and labored in the run game to the tune of 1.9 yards per carry and a long run of 12 yards.
In a measured, succinct, almost monotone style.
“I trust those guys with everything,” the eighth starting quarterback of the Brian Kelly Era and the eighth to win his starting debut — albeit barely — proclaimed.
All-America safety Kyle Hamilton emerged from No. 7 Notre Dame’s 41-38 overtime survival of Florida State on Sunday night at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, Florida, the same way he went into it — as the current face of the program.
The surprise, at least this early, is that the Wisconsin transfer quarterback may turn out to be its security blanket.
On Sunday night, Coan also provided most of the offensive pyrotechnics — his 366 passing yards the most ever for a Notre Dame first-time starter. And his 194.1 pass-efficiency rating the best in an Irish debut since Ron Powlus concocted a 231.55 rating against Northwestern in 1994 that coaxed ridiculous hyperbole from former ESPN analyst Beano Cook.
With the numbers, Coan brought an unflappable demeanor that was every bit as valuable.
Especially as the Irish cracked in places where they were expected to and notably one place where they weren’t — Marcus Freeman’s defense.
“We know we’ve got work to do, but I like this team,” said Irish head coach Brian Kelly with his win streak over unranked teams extending to 33 games. “We’ll get better and we’ll make a lot of improvement in week 2.”
Coan will have to, too, despite 26-of-35 accuracy with four TDs and a lone interception on a Hail Mary at the end of regulation.
Florida State picked up some portal power in the offseason — most notably former Georgia defensive end Jermaine Johnson II (7 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks), but the Seminoles ranked 107th nationally in total defense last season.
Wisconsin and Cincinnati, coming up in three and four weeks, respectively, were top 15 defenses last season, each with a lot of firepower returning.
Coan’s mindset and the skill personnel around him will both be key factors in him discovering his ceiling at Notre Dame, which already looks more promising than in any of his 18 starts for the Badgers.
For now, he’s No. 14 nationally in pass-efficiency, which is in the range that the Irish need him to finish the season. He’s 87 spots, incidentally, ahead of Graham Mertz, the QB that displaced him at Wisconsin after Coan suffered an injury in the preseason.
Keep in mind, numbers are skewed and overactions are natural in early September, so context has to come in time. Brian Kelly’s three title game/playoff teams all had underwhelming games early in each of those seasons (2012, 2018, 2020).
That doesn’t mean there’s not a lot of tinkering and fixing to do this week.
First-year coordinator Freeman’s defense tops the list.
Early on, the attacking scheme showed both its high risk (yielding two 60-plus-yard chunks plays) and high rewards. The Irish forced three interceptions — two by Hamilton — and recorded five sacks — two by surging junior vyper end Isaiah Foskey.
Most troublesome were the 18 fourth-quarter points the Irish defense surrendered after ND had built a 38-20 command, and the 264 yards in the running game. That’s the sixth most surrendered in the Kelly Era to a non-triple-option team.
“You know what you can and can't do,” Kelly said of what Freeman’s takeaway from the opener should be. “You know there are some things that, 'Okay, I got to be really careful making some of these calls in these situations.'
“Look, he is getting to know his personnel for the first time. It's one thing to have them in spring ball and quick whistle and tag them off.”
It’s also true that Notre Dame’s defensive line in spring practice and August training camp was by far the best position group on the field and its linebackers not far behind. And it needs to be that way in games.
The offensive line, expected to struggle early with chemistry despite some impressive individual talent, did so with great regularity Sunday night.
Left tackle Blake Fisher left the game with a leg injury Kelly initially didn’t get an indication was serious, ruling out knee ligament damage. On Sunday night, Fisher became just the second Notre Dame freshman offensive lineman in the past 50 years to start a season opener.
Sophomore Michael Carmody finished up.
“(Fisher) had a strain,” Kelly said, “so we’ll see how that plays over the next week or so.”
Meanwhile, the ND secondary, beyond Hamilton, got exposed in man coverage at times.
There were signs of progress, too.
Among them, sophomore tight end Michael Mayer, who scored the game’s first TD on a 41-yard pass play from Coan, tied the single-game school record for catches by a tight end with nine (Cole Kmet, Ken MacAfee) and had the fifth-most receiving yards (120).
Junior linebacker JD Bertrand, starting in place of injured junior Marist Liufau, recorded 11 tackles.
Kicker Jonathan Doerer nailed two long field goals, including the 41-yarder in overtime to provide the winning margin.
And star-crossed wide receiver Kevin Austin Jr. finally flourished with a career-high four catches for 91 yards and a 37-yard TD reception (his first) in a return to his home state.
Together it was enough to quell a storybook ending for Florida State quarterback McKenzie Milton, who relieved starter Jordan Travis in the fourth quarter, 33 months after suffering a career-threatening knee injury while playing for UCF.
And enough to keep Kelly's assertion alive that Sunday night was more Mulligan than it was foreboding.
“I know you guys don't want to hear this, but there's so much good teaching in a game like this,” he said. “And it's a lot more fun teaching it after a win and being challenged like this.
“We've got work to do. We've got to clean up a lot of stuff, but I'm excited to clean it up because we’ve got a good football team and we can get better."
Especially if Coan continues to handle the bright lights, bigger stages and all the white noise with poise and precision.