30 college football players with big shoes to fill in 2017
By Brad Weiss
Brandon Wimbush
Quarterback, Notre Dame
Last season, Notre Dame had a future NFL quarterback under center, although he did not play that way at times. In fact, DeShone Kizer was benched during the 2016 college football season, as the Fighting Irish stumbled to a 4-8 record. With Kizer headed to the next level, it will be Brandon Wimbush’s team in 2017, and he appears ready to take on the college football world.
A huge recruit out of St. Peter’s Prep in New Jersey, Wimbush was rated as the No. 45 ranked player in the country by ESPN. A true dual-threat option, he will likely be better at running Brian Kelly’s offense than Kizer was. Fans of Notre Dame hope that is the case, as they have to be tired of all the losing going on in South Bend.
Wimbush is now a junior, and he has put his time in with the program. It is going to be his position to lose this spring, which nobody expects him to do. Some actually believe he has enough talent to challenge for a Heisman Trophy, but let’s let him get a couple of starts under his belt first. Kizer was very inconsistent last season, and while he may struggle at times in 2017, Wimbush should be much better at taking care of the ball.
The Irish will return Equanimeous St. Brown at wide receiver this season, and he was the team leader in receptions, yards, and touchdowns in 2016. Running back Josh Adams should be the feature back for Notre Dame, giving Wimbush two solid weapons on that side of the ball. He is going to be a good one, and the Irish should be able to get back to .500 this season.