Zaire headed to Gainesville to join Gators
Malik Zaire is bound for Gainesville.
The Notre Dame graduate transfer quarterback confirmed what was widely expected Saturday to Fox Sports' Bruce Feldman, adding that he would be heading to Gainesville on Wednesday. The move to transfer to Florida comes after the SEC announced Friday during spring meetings that it would alter its graduate transfer penalty from three seasons to one. The previous rule did not permit Florida to take a graduate transfer until the 2018 season, after two previous grad transfers failed to meet academic requirements during the 2015 season.
Zaire and Florida have been long linked, since Zaire initially announced his departure from Notre Dame in late November. Now, the marriage is finally a reality.
When he arrives on campus, Zaire will have to learn Florida’s offensive playbook and pro-style system quickly, before fall training camp kicks off in August. However, he should certainly be a contender in the quarterback competition, considering the other competitors are two redshirt freshmen (Feleipe Franks, Kyle Trask), two freshmen (Jake Allen, Kadarius Toney) and a redshirt junior in Luke Del Rio who mostly struggled in six appearances last year and who is coming off of two offseason surgeries on both of his shoulders.
At Notre Dame, Zaire’s resume was quite limited, and it’s difficult to truly judge his body of work with the Fighting Irish considering the small sample size. Although Zaire appeared in 17 games, the left-handed signal-caller logged just three starts in four seasons. In his contests, he combined for 816 yards and six touchdowns against zero interceptions.
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* SEC alters graduate transfer penalty, clearing way for Zaire to join Gators
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* Notebook: McElwain discusses quarterbacks, talks early signing period
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As a starter against LSU in the 2014 Music City Bowl, the 6-foot, 225-pound Zaire recorded 96 yards and a touchdown both in the air and on the ground en route to MVP honors in a 31-28 victory. He followed up as a starter against Texas to open the 2015 season with a dynamic performance, logging 313 yards and three touchdowns against no picks on 19-of-22 passing in a 38-3 win.
After suffering a broken ankle in week two of the 2015 season, Zaire served as a backup in 2016 after losing the quarterback battle to DeShone Kizer, who was selected as a second-round pick by the Cleveland Browns in the 2017 NFL Draft.
As the No. 122 overall player in the country - and No. 3 dual-threat quarterback - in the 2013 recruiting class, Zaire threw for 1,990 yards and rushed for 1,120 yards while combined for 33 total touchdowns (24 passing TDs and nine rushing TDs) while at Kettering (Ohio) Archbishop Alter High School in 2012. During the summer of 2012, Zaire participated in the Elite 11 quarterback competition in Redondo Beach, California. That year, Del Rio was also a participant.
Zaire is now the sixth Elite 11 finalist to play for Florida since the start of the 2014 season (Del Rio, Austin Appleby, Franks, Will Grier, Jeff Driskel).
It has been rumored that Zaire may apply for a waiver for an additional year of eligibility, considering he missed the majority of the 2015 season due to injury after redshirting in 2013. However, it remains to be seen whether that will be the case and if he’d earn one, considering the NCAA typically hands out a sixth year of eligibility only in rare circumstances.
Regardless, Florida’s quarterback competition now adds another face for the 2017 season. Whether its Zaire, Franks or another signal-caller on the roster under center against Michigan to open the season, Gators fans at this point just hope that their team can shake off the woes that have plagued the quarterback position over the years since the Tim Tebow era.
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