In nine years of this exercise, Notre Dame’s starting quarterback has never finished atop the poll. There has been good reason for that. In four of the nine Brian Kelly years, the Irish have relied on first-time starters.
When not a new starter, quarterback uncertainty has clouded the picture (2011, Dayne Crist vs. Tommy Rees; 2019 Brandon Wimbush vs. Ian Book) or a suspension and subsequent return has sparked questions (2013 Rees; 2014 Golson). Frankly, only the 2016 preseason included this much stability at quarterback, and there was still a nominal quarterback competition that August between DeShone Kizer and Malik Zaire.