Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Former Notre Dame great gushes about Irish's new QB

Published Jun. 28, 2015 7:14 p.m. ET

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Former Notre Dame standout wide receiver Thom Gatewood knows a thing or two about catching passes and the guys throwing them, especially since the 2015 College Football Hall of Fame Inductee used to have Joe Theisman spiraling balls his way.

Recently, Gatewood visited the Notre Dame campus to participate in the school's annual fantasy camp, and while he was there he got to meet Fighting Irish quarterback Malik Zaire and liked what he saw.

“I was impressed with his intelligence. It was unbelievable. He’s a really, really smart kid and very, very mature. He can handle success," Gatewood told ND Insider. "I could see leadership in him, just working with those campers, just how he took the ball and did things on his own.

"A lot of that stuff is scripted, but he was having fun, showing guys, ‘I have ability, but I know how to relax.’ He was poised. He was mature. Just having a normal non-football conversation with him, you could pick up how intelligent he is. That just means that he has the ability to learn. He’s open to learning, and you need that."

Gatewood, who departed Notre Dame with a school-record 157 receptions, felt confident in Zaire's abilities.

"I think he’s going to have great success, because being the guy in charge and having the respect of your teammates is a must, and he has that at such a young age," Gatewood told ND Insider. "A lot of times you don’t achieve that until you’re a junior or senior. Him being so young, he’s a great kid to be handing the ball to. I enjoyed meeting him and being around him. I think he’s going to have one great career, and I’m not even talking about his speed and his ability to throw the ball."

Gatewood was very impressed with Zaire's intangible qualities.

"Just being around him, you could feel it. You could see that he was very comfortable in his own shell. With that pressure of being out there in front of 85,000 people, having been out there I know exactly what that’s all about," Gatewood told ND Insider. "I tried to talk to him about my days out there. The position I played as a wide receiver, being what was called a ‘possession receiver,’ everybody in the stands and everybody on the field knew they were coming to me (on third down).

"Whether you’re being singled, doubled, tripled, whatever the defense is, all eyes are on you and you have to deliver. Well, the quarterback gets that every down. I would feel that on third down. This guy has that pressure on all four downs, to perform under pressure. Those were the kind of conversations that he and I were having, about that mental toughness. Sometimes, that’s not coachable. You have it or you don’t. That’s the make-or-break. That separates the big guys from the average guys."

(h/t ND Insider)

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