Teams have tape on him and know to take away the 3 yard dump off now. He doesn’t have confidence making mid to deep throws so he’ll just throw it away or scramble for 2 if everything underneath is covered. His accuracy numbers last season were skewed because of the short passes. Plus, he had Boykin to bail him out. Boykin’s catch radius was bigger than any ND receiver in recent memory.
Book is who he is. He doesn’t have the arm strength or accuracy to be an elite QB. He has above average athleticism but he dances too much and bails out too quickly. Give Phil a shot. Maybe he’s the answer, maybe he isn’t. Either way, this team would need a miracle to beat one of the tier one elite schools (Bama, Clemson, OSU) with the current QB play.
If ND wants to be elite it needs to find an elite QB. If it’s content constantly being in the second tier ranked between 5-15, then sure, settle for above average QB play, 10-2 records and the occasional undefeated season and playoff loss.