Some weird things are happening with soon to be Notre Dame graduate transfer Malik Zaire.
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Initially after the report of his transfer, four schools had emerged as contenders to land his quarterbacking services: Wisconsin, Pitt, Florida, and Michigan State. Soon after, the Fighting Irish had put restrictions for all teams on their 2017 schedule... except for one: North Carolina.
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Notre Dame has since dropped those transfer restrictions, but North Carolina is now emerging as a serious candidate to get Zaire according to 247Sports.
SCOOP: #UNC in the mix for Notre Dame grad transfer QB Malik Zaire. Intel on the situation: https://t.co/dgPPKGPU0X via @TomLoy247 pic.twitter.com/iUnAMTN0sZ
— Inside Carolina (formerly Carolina Blue) (@CarolinaBlue247) December 1, 2016
North Carolina is going to be in the market for a quarterback, as junior Mitch Trubisky is likely to enter the NFL Draft. Zaire would fit in well with a high-powered Tar Heel offense that avraged 6.8 yards per play this year.
Zaire's career with Notre Dame essentially ended in the second game of the 2015 season. Zaire suffered an ankle injury against Virginia that ended his season, and backup DeShone Kizer played well enough to keep the job permanently. The Fighting Irish tried afterwards to convert Zaire to another position, but that didn't work out, either.
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Zaire is a former four-star recruit that originally selected Notre Dame over schools like Alabama and Ohio State. He will be eligible to play immediately in 2017 — with one year of eligibility — as a graduate transfer.