Notre Dame’s Ian Book is one of the more forgotten quarterbacks who’ve declared for the NFL draft, but should he be forgotten on your fantasy football team?
Ian Book will go down as one of the most successful quarterbacks at Notre Dame. This past season he broke the school record for the most wins as a quarterback, and is ranked second in nearly every major category in the school’s history. With the Trevor Lawrence‘s and Justin Field‘s of the world getting plenty of praise, where does Book stand? I took a look at his game film from this season (along with some analytics) for my scouting profile breakdown.
Pocket Presence and Football IQ
Pocket presence is something that Book has been up-and-down with throughout his collegiate career. On some occasions he will feel the pressure, navigate the pocket, and make an incredible throw (or run). Other times, he seems to be completely oblivious to his surroundings.
Book has a tendency to leave a clean pocket early; sensing pressure that just isn’t there. More often than not this has led to some terrible sacks, as Book doesn’t always have the presence of mind to throw the ball away. This play is inexcusable.
Didn’t think Ian Book could look any worse? https://t.co/BqYHmQ3fFn pic.twitter.com/8HshLN2pgS
— Barstool Sports Commenter (@BSScommenter_) December 19, 2020
This problem has also led to Book completely missing open receivers on the field. He gets ‘happy feet’ on a consistent basis and doesn’t stand in the pocket often to make a throw if the first read isn’t available. The clip below is a prime example of that, and something that continued to show up on his tape.
Content made on Kapwing
To be fair to Book, most of the time this season he was making something out of nothing. Receivers were rarely creating separation and despite ND’s offensive line ranking 1st overall by PFF heading into December, the group struggled heavily after that. Regardless, not throwing the ball away (or to the wide open receiver in that clip) is a glaring issue for a quarterback in his senior year.
There is a flip side to this. Ian Book may be one of the better improv players at the position. Despite the issues I mentioned above, he did have plenty of instances of feeling the blitz and making a spectacular play like the one below.
Ian Book avoids the sack and goes 17 yards for the score to extend Notre Dame’s (-34) lead to 31-14
pic.twitter.com/UI0UkVZs0j— Bet The Pigskin (@betthepigskin) December 5, 2020
Passing and Accuracy
Part of the reason for the problems I listed above is due to Book’s inability to go through progressions. If his first read isn’t available he tends to leave the pocket. This inability also causes him to miss open targets and often gets the ball late to the receiver (if it’s not his first read).
Book’s adjusted completion percentage has also taken a dive. At one point in 2018, Book had the third-highest overall percentage in the nation. This year, that number has dropped all the way to 19th.
In my belief, a lot of this had to do with the regression of his deep ball passing. In 2019 Book was one of four quarterbacks to have at least a 50% completion percentage on deep balls (he finished third with 50.8%). This list included Joe Burrow, Jalen Hurts, and Tanner Morgan. 2020 proved to be nearly the opposite as he hovered around the 40’s throughout the season.
While the deep ball passing numbers lowered this year, I feel like Book’s overall accuracy is above-average. He’s shown the ability to put the ball where only the receiver can catch it; and really does a good job at placing the ball in jump ball situations.
Some Pac 12 on PAC 12 action. Frank Darby gets the best of Bynum on the jump ball. Nice ball from Ian Book here pic.twitter.com/eNvAHiihhR
— Cyril Penn IV (@cyrilpenn4) January 26, 2021
Here’s a guy we don’t spend a lot of time talking about:
Ian Book, Notre Dame.
This throw is fantastic. With a clean pocket, Book puts this on the outside and away from the DB, only where his receiver can get it.
Tony Dungy called it a 50/50 ball. No, that was 100/0. pic.twitter.com/IBQ9kfuE3a
— John Vogel (@johndavogel) January 24, 2021
Another underrated aspect of Book’s game is his ability to hit the wide receiver in stride for great YAC (yards after catch) potential. While it isn’t as prevalent on deep passes, he does an incredible job doing this on short and medium yard passes. It’s something that really stuck out to me when watching the tape, and doesn’t get talked about enough when evaluating quarterback prospects. His ability to do this off-platform doesn’t go unnoticed by me.
One more time because it was so damned pretty.
Fantastic patience, nifty footwork sliding to his left to make the play. Well done, Ian Book. pic.twitter.com/jCLPHa8y66
— Kevin Sinclair (@KevinSinclair_) November 15, 2020
Final Thoughts
To be honest, I think head coach Brian Kelly hindered a lot of the potential of Ian Book. There was consistently bad playcalling, putting both Book and the offensive line in some bad positions. With a worse set of skill position players in 2020, Kelly’s lack of adjustments made the team easy to exploit as the season went on. That doesn’t mean Book is off the hook, however.
If Book wishes to excel at the next level he needs to keep his head up and look downfield more often when the pocket collapses. He also has a tendency to believe he can out-run the pressure instead of throwing the ball away, which can be disastrous in the NFL. Book needs to stick in the pocket more as well, making a strong throw instead of evading pressure that doesn’t exist. If he relaxes in the pocket and goes through his progressions more often, I believe he can have success.
His ability to be accurate with the ball shouldn’t be overlooked. He does an excellent job placing the ball where only his receiver can catch it, and shows to be very clutch when the game is on the line. Above all else, football is about winning, and Book is a winner, in my opinion.
As of right now I see Book as a mid-to-late selection in the NFL Draft. He reminds me quite of a bit of current New York Jets’ quarterback Sam Darnold (though I don’t believe it warrants a direct comparison). If a team drafts Book with the intention of letting him sit and learn, I think he could have potentail to become a starter. Outside of that, I think he can be a decent backup and development option in the right system.
Good work here Thomas.
Thanks man appreciate it! I would’ve liked to see him with a legit receiving core again like he had in previous years. Think Kelly didn’t help him out much at all this year.