Next up under center: A look at the potential QBs for Notre Dame's final six 2022 opponents

Notre Dame has one of the tougher schedules in the country in 2022, and many of the matchups are going to be blockbuster events due in part to their opponent’s starting quarterback. Which names should you be on the lookout for this spring while examining the competition, and are there any quarterback battles to keep an eye on?

Here is a way-too-early look at the quarterback options for the second six Irish opponents. The first six opponents and their quarterback situations can be found in a Friday article here.

UNLV – Oct. 22

On Jan. 18, UNLV landed Tennessee transfer quarterback and former four-star recruit Harrison Bailey. Undoubtedly, he transferred to UNLV because there is a potential opening for the No. 1 spot under at his position.

UNLV played started several quarterbacks in 2021 en route to a dismal 2-10 season. Rising fifth-year senior Justin Rogers started in Week 1 last year, but he lost the gig to Doug Brumfield. The 6-foot-5 sophomore (now rising junior) suffered a season ending injury shortly thereafter, paving the way for freshman Cameron Friel. He finished with just 1,608 yards, six touchdowns and 11 interceptions, but he did earn freshman of the year honors in the Mountain West. Former four-star recruit Tate Martell was in the quarterback room for the Rebels as well, but he moved to receiver in 2021 before ultimately ending his college football career after last season.

So, there is certainly a quarterback battle here, but Bailey seems to be in a good position to take over. He’s thrown for 594 yards with four touchdowns and two picks over two collegiate seasons.

Syracuse – Oct. 29

Like UNLV, Syracuse just picked up a transfer portal quarterback. On Jan. 11, former Michigan quarterback Dan Villari chose to head to his home state and play for the Orange. The junior was a three-star recruit from New York, and his only Power Five offers out of high school were Michigan and Wisconsin. Villari did not see the field as a freshman in 2020, and he played in four games — Western Michigan, Northern Illinois, Wisconsin and Maryland — in 2021. The sophomore finished the year with one pass for three yards and nine carries for 35 yards.

The other quarterbacks in the mix for Syracuse include 2021 starter Garrett Shrader, rising sophomore JaCobian Morgan and incoming true freshman Justin Lamson. Shrader is a former four-star recruit who started his college career at Mississippi State.

Clemson – Nov. 5

The last time quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei started a game at Notre Dame Stadium, he broke the passing yardage record with 439 yards. Oh yeah, and he was a true freshman. Fast forward two years, and he is the favorite to make a second start at Notre Dame.

However, there is always true freshman Cade Klubnik, who was the No. 3 quarterback in the nation in the 2022 class according to On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. 
Uiagalelei has more than a year of starting experience on his resume, but after a down year last year, this could be a little more of a quarterback battle than one might think.

Navy – Nov. 12

Notre Dame saw two Navy quarterbacks when the Midshipmen came to South Bend in 2021, and they are likely to face the same two players when the teams meet in Baltimore this fall. Tai Lavatai is the expected starter, while Xavier Arline will be the backup. 

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Lavatai threw just one pass against Notre Dame last November, and it fell incomplete. He rushed nine times for -7 yards. Arline went 1-for-2 for 18 yards and had eight carries for eight yards. 

Boston College – Nov. 19 

Welcome back to South Bend, Phil Jurkovec. The former Notre Dame signal-caller is back for his fifth season, and he will face the Irish on their senior day under new offensive coordinator and former ND tight ends coach John McNulty. 

Jurkovec missed a chunk of the 2021 season with a hand injury, so his final numbers are lower than expected for a starter: 914 yards, 12 total touchdowns and four interceptions. Notre Dame faced Boston College in 2020 in Chestnut Hill, and Jurkovec got off to a hot start before finishing 18-for-40 with 272 yards, two touchdowns and a pick. 

USC – Nov. 26 

This is shaping up to be quite the game, isn’t it? Not only is it an annual rivalry game, but the Irish will close out their season against new head coach Lincoln Riley and presumptive starting quarterback Caleb Williams. 

Williams’ transfer process from Oklahoma captivated the country for several weeks to kick off 2022, and he finally settled on following his former head coach and quarterback guru Riley to Los Angeles. In his first season, one in which he took over as the starter in October, Williams completed 64.5 percent of his passes for 1,912 yards, 21 touchdowns and four picks. He added 79 carries for 442 yards and six scores. 

The combination of Williams’ skills and an always-excellent USC wide receiving corps could be lethal for a Notre Dame secondary that has several questions entering 2022. They’ll have 11 games to try to figure it all out.