The Texas Longhorns and head coach Tom Herman badly want more quarterback depth, with only two scholarship QBs on the roster. That's led Texas to target a graduate transfer at the position. Former Notre Dame QB Malik Zaire is the top target at the moment and it appears Texas is in the mix.
Was told Malik Zaire may announce his decision on May 19, before SEC meetings. That could eliminate UF, leaving Texas, Wisconsin & Harvard
— Anwar Richardson (@AnwarRichardson) May 5, 2017
Texas missed out on LSU transfer Brandon Harris (went to North Carolina) and Louisville transfer Kyle Bolin (went to Rutgers), leaving Zaire as the top option. He's a good fit in the Texas offensive system, but there's no guarantee he'd be able to beat out Shane Buechele for the starting job.
And that's the issue with all the grad transfers at QB Texas has chased. Zaire could take the near-guaranteed route to playing time with Harvard or a better chance at it with Wisconsin. So it's understandable he might not want to transfer for his final season and ride the bench all year. If Herman can convince Zaire to come to Texas, it would open up a more competitive QB battle than the Buechele vs. Sam Ehlinger race has provided.
In a handful of starts at Notre Dame, Zaire has completed 59.2 percent of his passes for 816 yards, 6 TDs and no picks. A dual-threat, he has 324 rushing yards and 2 TDs. Zaire opened the 2015 season as the starting QB for Notre Dame, but broke his ankle in the second game. DeShone Kizer then took over and remained the starter for the majority of Zaire's time at Notre Dame.
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