Report: Notre Dame QB transfer Malik Zaire officially heading to Florida, wants to be a part of something special
By Kevin Duffey
Published:
Notre Dame graduate transfer QB Malik Zaire will be heading to Florida on Wednesday, he told 247Sports.
With Zaire’s transfer, the Gators QB job just got a little more exciting. Zaire will compete with redshirt freshmen Feleipe Franks and Kyle Trask, as well as veteran returner — and fellow transfer — Luke Del Rio.
“You just want to be able to be a part of something special,” Zaire said of his decision. “You’re playing in basically like a minor league from the league. For me, I didn’t want the challenge to dissipate at the end of the day. Coming from Notre Dame, you’re playing top games every week, and I wanted to continue that trend. I didn’t want to run from the challenge, I wanted to embrace the challenge.”
The SEC recently reversed a rule at the spring meetings that would allow Zaire to transfer to Florida. Prior to the conference changing the rule, SEC schools with graduate transfers who failed to meet certain academic requirements weren’t allowed to accept any other graduate transfers for a three-year period. At the spring meetings, the rule was changed to one year, paving the way for Zaire to head to Gainesville.
It’s intriguing how Zaire became such an off-season hot topic and coveted QB. He finished his Notre Dame career completing just 58-of-98 passes for 816 yards and six touchdowns.
Just how big of an impact will he make? The job is certainly there for the taking. Regardless, Jim McElwain wants competition at the QB position, and adding Zaire certainly brings more competition and experience.
A graduate of the University of Florida and founder of Saturday Down South, Kevin is a college football enthusiast.
