For the most part, Ian Book is who he is and if you’ve been paying close attention, he’s conveyed that to you consistently since 2017. Yes, he’s certainly taken a step or two forward in mid-season this year, but the polarization that surrounds him has always been quite puzzling to me.
After the big historic win over Clemson, he’s now been deemed by many Notre Dame fans as greater than Joe Montana, Joe Theismann, Rick Mirer and Tony Rice combined. When he was previously struggling, other Domers slandered him as worse than Ron Powlus on his worse day.
We won’t even get into what is said about Ian Book on Twitter, because well, “this is a family show.”
But seriously, there is no need to revert to the cliche that passes for “journalism” these days by posting “articles” that consist of just embedding tweets. (We are certainly not above this practice by any means, we’re just not going to do it here) Let’s maintain decorum, professionalism and civility, three traits we don’t often see in tweets written about this Book.
Yesterday, in the blowout of Boston College, we saw the senior signal caller register his greatest single game pass efficiency versus a power five team. And of course, the scrambling portion of his game has taken off in 2020. Then you have the designed runs, which have seen him climb up the career rushing charts for ND quarterbacks.
https://twitter.com/nateatkins0/status/1327755965161222145
As Ian Book develops, you now, by Federal law, must refer to him as a “dual threat quarterback.” (which is interesting because how come no one is ever a “single threat quarterback”? Just like you never have “51/49 balls” or “mid/low points the football,” nor “gap lack of integrity.”
Asked by the media about his taking his game up another notch, he said:
“I wouldn’t say anything crazy changed, I was just who I am everyday and I just there was more for me.”
“I knew there was another step I could take in watching film and doing a little bit extra. It’s the small details. Meeting with coach Rees (OC Tommy Rees) I want to know why certain things are happening.
“It’s starting to add up, and I wouldn’t pinpoint one thing, it’s a whole bunch of things,” Book said to the media after the B.C. win.
Much has been written on this site, and elsewhere, and everywhere about how being QB1 at the University of Notre Dame is unlike any other position in college athletics; period. Honestly, you don’t really know, none of us do, until you’ve walked in the shoes of a young man who has done it.
I can’t think of a better description and take on it than what Brandon Wimbush said at 2018 Media Day. Ian Book’s OC, Tommy Rees has been there, and he still holds a prominent place in the ND passing record book today.
No doubt that Rees, and his experiences in this regard, are great for Ian Book and crucial to the field general’s development this season.
His development as a runner has been a natural response to a team that his as strong as ever on the offensive line/run blocking, but weaker than in recent years at the receiving corps. While Book is not much in terms of a NFL Draft prospect, he’s elevating his game and he’s doing at the right time.
He’s a two-time captain and leader; someone his teammates really believe in, and that’s reflected in the results he’s produced from a W-L standpoint.
Said Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly: “Look, I think we’ve talked about this at great length, when your quarterback is playing at a high level, it gives you a great chance to be a championship caliber football team.”
Ian Book and ND head into the bye week undefeated and ranked #2 in the nation.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank, partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and SB Nation. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.