LI's Jack Coan makes dream come true as new Notre Dame QB

Once upon a time, there was a kid from Sayville, Long Island, named Jack Coan who dreamed of playing lacrosse for Notre Dame. He received a lacrosse scholarship offer from Notre Dame, but as good as Coan was at lacrosse, it turned out he was even better as a quarterback for the Golden Flashes under former coach Rob Hoss.

It might not have been Notre Dame, but Coan earned a football scholarship at Big Ten powerhouse Wisconsin and grabbed it because that was the sport he wanted to pursue. He became the Badgers’ full-time starter in 2019 and went 10-4, reaching the Big Ten title game in a loss to Ohio State and the Rose Bowl in a heartbreaking 28-27 loss to Oregon.

Coan had great stats that season with a .696 completion percentage, 2,727 passing yards, 18 touchdowns passes, only five interceptions and a stellar 151.8 passer rating. The following season, he suffered a foot injury that kept him out of training camp, and he lost the starting job to freshman Graham Mertz, who completed 61.1 percent of his passes for 1,283 yards, nine TDs and five interceptions in a pandemic-shortened 4-3 season in which he compiled a 125.2 QB rating.

It was obvious Coan was the better QB, but Wisconsin coach Paul Chryst was committed to Mertz at that point, so Coan entered the transfer portal, and Notre Dame offensive coordinator Tommy Rees reached out to him.

"Basically, coach Rees texted me one night," Coan told Newsday. "We got on the phone I think maybe twice after that, and that was pretty much it. I knew I wanted to come here. That was pretty much it.

"It sort of was always my dream to come here as a kid. And yeah, I was coming here for lacrosse, and it was probably crazy that it came back around when I was in the transfer portal. It just sort of felt like it was meant to be, and I was so excited for the opportunity."

In some ways, it’s easy for Coan to view his foot injury as a blessing in disguise. It ended his 2020 season at Wisconsin, but it opened the door to Notre Dame as a graduate student.

"I definitely try to look at it that way," Coan said. "Obviously, I would have loved to finish my career at Wisconsin, but everything happens for a reason. I’ve landed at an amazing place here in Notre Dame and I’m just so excited for this opportunity."

There’s no doubt Coan had a fine career at Wisconsin. Even before his senior year, he enjoyed mop-up duty as a sophomore, and as a junior, he started four games late in the season and compiled a 118.0 QB rating while completing 60.2 percent of his passes for five TDs and three interceptions.

"I definitely had an amazing experience at Wisconsin," Coan said. "I have a ton of great memories and I’m so thankful for that experience and those opportunities. My transition from there to high school was awesome. I went from a great program at Sayville with coach Hoss teaching me about the game and then taking it to a new level and learning from Paul Chryst.

"Basically, the next level of the game and how to play quarterback and running a pretty complex offense and things like that. So it definitely was amazing. I would say what I probably took pride the most was in just hard work, making great decisions on the field and trying to help my team as much as possible."

Since joining Notre Dame, Coan has beaten out Drew Pyne for the starting quarterback job.

"Look, he’s excited," Rees said of Coan. "He came here for a reason. He’s put in all the work, he’s done everything we asked from him and more. But Jack keeps it pretty close to the chest. He’s a guy that’s very poised. Very thoughtful in how he reacts.

"He’s excited, he’s eager for his opportunity. But he was very conscious of making sure that he talked to the other quarterbacks, as well. So he was able to keep a cohesiveness in the group. We are very fortunate that we have unbelievable guys in the group from Jack Coan to Drew Pyne … So Jack was excited, but he was also poised and wanted to make sure that this is still a group effort and we need everybody to help us win games. He did a nice job of keeping that cohesiveness together."

Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly liked what he saw of Coan, as well. The Irish went 10-0 during the regular season last year but then lost the ACC title game to Clemson and a CFP semifinal to eventual national champion Alabama. No doubt, Kelly was behind the Irish push to secure Coan as a transfer. He took barely a week into preseason camp to proclaim Coan as the starting QB.

"He’s got to disburse the football certainly down the field, he’s got to have accuracy in those throws," Kelly said. "So we’ve been looking for the guy that can make those throws vertically. Certainly, there’s got to be that ability to get the ball down the field.

"And we’ve always felt like the quarterback has got to be the brains of this operation, getting in run checks, protection, knows how to protect them. All of these guys are really good at that, so the deciding factor is just that ability to get the ball out on time, accurate, and allow this offense to make big plays."

Coan recognizes his limitations and has been working on them. Especially his footwork and delivering the pass quickly.

"I’d say those are two great things I’m trying to work on right now is just speeding up the feet a little bit, being nimble in the pocket, getting the ball out quicker and honestly just making great decisions with the ball and trying to make big plays down the field," Coan said.

Rees said he and Kelly wanted to act quickly to make a starting QB decision in order to give the new starter as much time as possible with the starting unit before the season opens at Florida State on Sept. 5. Tough opener.

"I think Jack put his head down and worked, right?" Rees said. "The most successful transfers we’ve had in this program have come in and worked first and then started to figure out what their role is going to be. I think Jack earned the respect and trust of his teammates the moment he stepped foot here when they saw how he worked. There was a consistency in the way he approaches things day in and day out. We’re very fortunate he’s here."

Apparently, Notre Dame’s receivers like what they see so far from Coan. Kelly also has made it clear that he believes the Irish need to score more points and push the ball down the field even better than they did under departed three-year starter Ian Book.

"I think we all, in some instance, took Ian Book’s performance here for granted because he was a very accurate passer," Kelly said after a recent scrimmage. "But Jack Coan kind of picks up where Ian left off in terms of accuracy. The accuracy is really good.

"He’s smart. He knows the offense really well for just coming in the spring. He doesn’t make a lot of mistakes. He’s not a guy that’s throwing the ball into coverage, making poor decisions. He’s got a high football IQ. He’s a guy we have come to feel really confident with his ability to lead the offense."

Sophomore starting tight end Michael Mayer, who is a projected NFL star, clearly is impressed by Coan’s skills. "What I like about him is how patient he is in the pocket," Mayer said. "He goes through his progressions, goes through his reads, knows what he’s doing. He’s a very good quarterback."

The Irish have an elite wide receiver corps, including Braden Lenzy, who had this to say about Coan: "His willingness to be coached and learn is one thing I always noticed from him. If he makes a mistake, he’s never down about it. He’s eager to grow, and he wants to come in every day and get better. That’s something you want to see from a veteran. You never know what you’re going to get from a grad transfer. He’s done a phenomenal job. Great ball placement, great work ethic, great leadership."

Coan understands there are two qualities the Irish need to see from him: toughness and leadership. That has been his focus during the preseason.

"I always try to work as hard as I can and always be tough, both physically and mentally," Coan said. "To be honest with you, I just try to help make everyone better. Trying to be a leader, you want to make everyone else around you better, so that’s what I try to do."

There is no doubt Jack Coan is an Irish tough guy who can lead a new team to a promising season.

At the same time, Coan only is rated 32nd among quarterbacks in NCAA Division I. As good as his stats might have been at Wisconsin, he gets little respect.

So Notre Dame offensive coordinator Rees is working with Coan on a few fundamentals.

"I think the footwork part of it," Rees said of his focus with Coan. "That’s pretty technical, but every system is different. When he’s in the pocket, getting balls out on time, being ready to react, and that’s something every day that we’re drilling with him and something that, for a kid that has played a lot of football, he wants to continue to get better and he wants to do things the right way."

As starting quarterback for Notre Dame this season, Coan has the opportunity to answer some major questions about his underrated ability. Does he have NFL potential? Coan certainly hopes so.

"I’m not really sure, to be honest with you," Coan said when asked if his NFL dream is realistic. "It’s a dream of mine, and I hope it can happen one day. But honestly, I’m just focused on being here right now and trying to win a championship with this program. That’s for the future. I take it one day at a time, and things like that and everything will fall into place."

No matter what happens in the future, Jack Coan from Sayville, Long Island, will start at quarterback for Notre Dame this season. He couldn’t ask for anything more.

By Greg Logan

Gregory.Logan@newsday.comGregLogan1

Greg Logan has worked for Newsday since 1982 covering a wide array of sports and events, currently including the Brooklyn Nets beat.