Malik Zaire

Malik Jamaal Zaire (born February 28, 1995) is a former American football quarterback He began his college football career at Notre Dame, before transferring to the University of Florida as a graduate transfer. Zaire currently works for the sports media company Overtime (sports network) as on-air talent and as a producer, as well as a color commentator for college football games on the CBS Sports Network. [1]

Malik Zaire
Zaire in 2019
Free agent
Position:Quarterback
Personal information
Born: (1995-02-28) February 28, 1995
Kettering, Ohio
Height:6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight:225 lb (102 kg)
Career information
High school:Archbishop Alter
(Kettering, Ohio)
College:Notre Dame/Florida
Undrafted:2018

Early years

Zaire attended Archbishop Alter High School in Kettering, Ohio. As a senior, he earned 2012 AP Ohio Division III Southwest District Offensive Player of the Year accolades with 1,990 yards passing, 1,120 yards on the ground and 33 total touchdowns (24 passing touchdowns and nine rushing touchdowns).[2]

He was rated by Rivals.com as a four-star recruit and was ranked as the third best Dual-threat quarterback in his class.[3] Zaire committed to the University of Notre Dame to play college football.[4]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Malik Zaire
Dual-Threat QB		 Kettering, OH Archbishop Alter HS 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 196 lb (89 kg) Mar 25, 2012 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 83
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 14 (QB), 1 (OH), 3 (regional), 172 (national)   Rivals: 3 (QB), 122 (national)  ESPN: 6 (QB), 189 (national)
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "Notre Dame Football Commitment List". Rivals.com. Retrieved December 27, 2015.
  • "Notre Dame College Football Recruiting Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved December 27, 2015.
  • "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 27, 2015.
  • "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved December 27, 2015.
  • "2013 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved December 27, 2015.

    College career

    2013 season

    Zaire did not play in any games as a freshman at Notre Dame in 2013.

    2014 season

    Prior to his sophomore season in 2014, he competed with Everett Golson to be the starting quarterback.[5][6] Golson won the job with Zaire as the backup.[7][8] He received his first extensive playing time against the USC Trojans, replacing Golson, who was benched. He completed 9 of 20 passes for 170 yards and a rushing touchdown in the game.[9] After spending the entire season as Golson's backup, Zaire started the 2014 Music City Bowl.[10][11] He completed 12 of 15 passes for 96 yards with one touchdown, and ran for 96 yards on 22 carries scoring one touchdown leading Notre Dame to a 31–28 victory over LSU and earning the game's MVP.[12]

    2015 season

    The Fighting Irish opened spring practice with an open competition at quarterback, but neither Zaire or Everett Golson separated themselves as the starter according to head coach Brian Kelly.[13] However, after Golson decided to transfer and play his final season at Florida State University, Zaire was named the starting quarterback.[14] In the second game of the season, against Virginia, Zaire fractured his ankle after a run. It was announced after the game that he would miss the rest of the season.[15][16]

    2016 season

    Zaire battled DeShone Kizer before the season for the starting quarterback position. Both shared snaps in the team's first game, a loss to Texas. Statistically Kizer had a far better game than Zaire, earning Kizer the starting quarterback position. Zaire played little during the remainder of the season. After graduating from Notre Dame in May 2017, Zaire announced that he had transferred to the University of Florida to play a fifth year in the 2017 season.

    2017 season

    Zaire started two games and appeared in four. He finished with an overall record of 0–2 as a starter, completing 57.1 percent of his passes for 349 yards with zero touchdowns and one interception.

    Professional career

    After going undrafted in the 2018 NFL Draft, Zaire was invited to attend the Jacksonville Jaguars' rookie minicamp on a tryout basis.[17] He did not make the Jaguars roster.

    References
    1. "Take a Look Inside Hoovers Championship Football Program"
    2. "TriStateFootball.com". TriStateFootball.com. Archived from the original on January 1, 2015.
    3. "Malik Zaire". yahoo.com.
    4. "Quarterback Malik Zaire commits to the Irish". Inside the Irish.
    5. "Malik Zaire serves notice of QB race at Notre Dame football spring game". Asbury Park Press. April 12, 2014.
    6. "Everett Golson wil have to compete for Notre Dame job". tribunedigital-mcall.
    7. Notre Dame gets the 'right answer' from Malik Zaire Archived December 30, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
    8. "Notebook: Malik Zaire trying to find his edge as Notre Dame's No. 2 QB". Notre Dame Insider.
    9. "Notre Dame: Malik Zaire, Greg Bryant bright spots at USC". CSN Chicago. Archived from the original on January 9, 2015.
    10. "Notre Dame Fighting Irish to start Malik Zaire". ESPN.com.
    11. Chicago Tribune (December 29, 2014). "Malik Zaire to start at QB for Notre Dame against LSU". chicagotribune.com.
    12. "Malik Zaire leads Notre Dame to Music City Bowl win over LSU". Yahoo Sports. December 30, 2014.
    13. Chicago Tribune (April 8, 2015). "Brian Kelly in no rush to anoint Notre Dame starting QB". chicagotribune.com.
    14. "Notre Dame has 'supreme confidence' in starting Malik Zaire". CSN Chicago.
    15. "Notre Dame quarterback Malik Zaire gone for the season". Irish247.
    16. "Notre Dame Fighting Irish QB Malik Zaire leaves game against Virginia Cavaliers with apparent right ankle injury". ESPN.com.
    17. Johnson, Jay (May 8, 2018). "All you need to know about the Jags' upcoming rookie minicamp". Jaguars Wire. Retrieved May 11, 2018.
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