Notre Dame grad transfer QB Malik Zaire reportedly lining up visits
Former Notre Dame quarterback Malik Zaire is already lining up visits.
After being granted his release from the Irish last week, Zaire plans to visit Wisconsin and North Carolina this week, IrishIllustrated.com and ESPN.com are reporting. Both reports say Zaire is expected to make the trip to Madison to visit the Badgers on Wednesday before heading south to UNC on Friday.
Zaire’s release from Notre Dame apparently is without restriction. That would allow him to transfer to North Carolina despite the Heels being on the Irish’s schedule in 2017. Zaire, who is expected to graduate from Notre Dame this month, would be immediately eligible wherever he ends up.
Per IrishIllustrated.com, North Carolina has been in touch with Zaire since he was given his release. Wisconsin entered the picture more prominently after the Big Ten title game.
While Wisconsin has been a potential destination from the start, contact with the Big 10 West champs picked up during the past 48 hours. North Carolina has been a steady presence since Zaire’s release last week after a meeting with Brian Kelly. That release included no restrictions, which is why Zaire can look toward Chapel Hill without any obstacles despite Notre Dame’s date at North Carolina on Oct. 7 next season.
North Carolina quarterback Mitch Trubisky has another season of eligibility, but could opt for the NFL after putting up 3,468 yards, 28 touchdowns and four interceptions in his first season as starter.
Wisconsin split time between senior Bart Houston and redshirt freshman Alex Hornibrook throughout the season. Hornibrook threw for 1,243 yards, eight touchdowns and seven interceptions for the Big Ten West champions.
Other schools reportedly in the mix for Zaire’s services include Pittsburgh, Michigan State and Auburn.
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Zaire started in place of Everett Golson and won MVP honors in the 2014 Music City Bowl before entering the 2015 season as the Irish’s starter. He started the first two games of the year, but went down with a broken ankle in Week 2.
From there, DeShone Kizer moved into the starting role for the rest of the 2015 season. Kizer and Zaire competed for the starting job entering this season and initially split reps in the opener against Texas. But after the loss to UT, Kizer grabbed hold of the starting role.
Overall, Zaire appeared in 17 games at Notre Dame and won all three games he started. He threw for 816 yards, six touchdowns and zero interceptions while completing 59 percent of his passes and added 324 yards and two scores on the ground.
For more Notre Dame news, visit BlueAndGold.com.
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Sam Cooper is a writer for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
