Senior quarterback Dayne Crist’s career at Notre Dame was underwhelming considering he was a second ranked high school quarterback on rivals.com.
By transferring to Kansas, Crist gets a chance to start over and will be reunited with the coach who recruited him to Notre Dame, Charlie Weis.
“To walk in the door and have a guy who carries himself the way Dayne does is good for everyone on the team,” Weis said. “Plus, he’s a resource for these guys to know who I am.”
Crist was a five-star recruit, according to rivals.com, and committed to Notre Dame and Weis his junior year of high school. Weis would only be around two years with Crist before he was fired in 2009.
“I feel so much more comfortable doing the things Coach Weis asks me to do,” Crist said. “That’s why I committed to him the first time at Notre Dame.”
After redshirting a year and serving as Jimmy Clausen’s backup in 2009, Crist became the starter for the Fighting Irish in 2010. He started nine games and threw for 2033 yards, 15 touchdowns and seven interceptions before a ruptured left patella tendon ended his season.
In 2011, Crist won the starting job but was benched after completing seven of 15 pass attempts in the first half of the season opener.
“I don’t think you can look at anything that has happened with Dayne Crist in the past two years,” Weis said. “As far as I’m concerned, it’s null and void. I knew what I had two years ago when I left there, and I’m fired up to have him now.”
At Kansas, Crist is able to play immediately because he still had one year of eligibility when he graduated from Notre Dame.
It is the same NCAA rule that allowed quarterback Russell Wilson to play immediately for Wisconsin last season, where he led them a berth in the Rose Bowl.
Crist’s narrowed his decision to Wisconsin and Kansas before choosing Kansas. Weis’s relationship with Crist was a factor in his decision.
“When I started thinking about leaving and taking my fifth year elsewhere, he was the first person I called,” Crist said. “He was always supportive first and never gave biased answers. He really had my best interest in mind at all times.”
Crist will only be able to play at Kansas for one season, but he hopes his effect can last longer than that. The football program will try to recover from a stretch where it has lost 26 of its last 29 games, including its last 12 conference games.
“Kansas fans should be really excited because Dayne Crist is a motivated guy,” sophomore quarterback Jake Heaps said. “He’s a great worker and a great teammate, so he’s going to be huge for this program in moving it forward.”