Who will Notre Dame's quarterback be when it re-starts its push for the College Football Playoff next September in Austin, Texas?
That's the question that'll dominate offseason conversation around South Bend as DeShone Kizer, Malik Zaire and Brandon Wimbush speed toward a three-person positional battle that has neither a right nor wrong answer.
Kizer, a redshirt freshman, tagged in for an injured Zaire on Sept. 12 at Virginia and asserted himself on the national landscape with a 39-yard game-winning heave to Will Fuller. He finished his first regular season as a starter with solid stats: A 63.3 completion percentage, 2,596 yards, 19 touchdowns and nine interceptions; he also rushed 119 times for 499 yards and nine touchdowns.
Those numbers are an awfully strong base on which to build going forward. If Kizer had a weakness, it was in the red zone -- Notre Dame's 56 percent touchdown rate inside the opponent 20-yard line ranks 91st among FBS teams.
"His learning curve is probably in the short field areas and making decisions down there," coach Brian Kelly said. "But who wouldn't want that guy back next year?"
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It'll be fascinating to see what Notre Dame does with so much talent at the quarterback position after it plays its bowl game -- either the Fiesta Bowl or Peach Bowl, most likely -- and turns the page to 2016 preparations. Zaire is expected to be able to participate in spring practice, during which last year he competed with Everett Golson for Notre Dame's starting job.
Zaire wasn't pushed by Kizer at any point during offseason workouts or preseason practice, as it was made clear from the moment Golson transferred that Zaire would be the guy. His strong arm, vocal presence and running ability -- he's a read-option natural -- had him in unquestioned position to be Notre Dame's quarterback before he fractured his ankle in Charlottesville.
Kizer was coming off a turbulent freshman season, while Zaire was the impetus for Notre Dame's upset of LSU in the Music City Bowl.
The roles are reversed now -- Kizer is the one with experience, while Zaire only has three starts to his name. But Wimbush may have the most raw talent of the group, flashing big-play potential with his arm and legs during sporadic snaps this fall.
"We know he's got arm talent," Kelly said of Wimbush earlier this year. "He certainly has the physical ability."
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Notre Dame is still weeks, if not months, away from beginning the process of figuring out if Kizer will hold on to his starting role, Zaire will get his back or Wimbush will push either or both. It's not the same situation Ohio State faced earlier this year, with two former Heisman candidates and a guy who won a championship filling out the depth chart (until Braxton Miller moved to wide receiver over the summer).
There's not a wrong answer between three talented quarterbacks, but there is a wrong process. It certainly won't be easy for Kelly, Sanford & Co. to pick someone, but given the work they've done with Kizer this year, there should be plenty of confidence they can make the right call for next year.
"I'm sitting on a pretty good situation with the quarterbacks that we have coming back," Kelly said. "If I don't screw them up we should be okay."