The South Bend Tribune’s 96-page preview of Notre Dame’s football team is an invaluable resource for the Irish fan looking to get informed before the 2016 football season kicks off Sept. 4.
Mike Vorel wrote the magazine’s cover story, “Avoiding A Split Decision,” on the quarterback competition between redshirt sophomore DeShone Kizer and redshirt senior Malik Zaire. Vorel interviewed former Texas head coach Mack Brown, former Notre Dame quarterbacks Joe Theismann and Brady Quinn and ESPN’s Austin Ward, who covered a similar competition at Ohio State last season. These experts have all previously endured summer-long speculation on who starts and who sits, and know how the student athletes will be evaluated, what intangibles will give one the lead over the other and importance of establishing an identity around the player ultimately chosen.