Fiesta Bowl notebook: Coan's final game for Notre Dame; Oliver shines for Cowboys

Jack Coan gets the rare opportunity to guide a second major college football team into a New Year's Six bowl game Saturday when the Notre Dame quarterback takes the field at State Farm Stadium in Glendale for the Fiesta Bowl. He'll quarterback the fifth-ranked Fighting Irish against No. 9 Oklahoma State.

Coan, a graduate transfer to Notre Dame before this season, was Wisconsin's quarterback when the Badgers faced Oregon in the 2019 Rose Bowl. But Notre Dame was his original college choice from as far back as when he was a freshman in high school, when Coan committed to the storied Catholic university as a lacrosse standout.

After three seasons plus missing the 2020 season due to a foot injury at Wisconsin, Coan looked to go elsewhere.

"When I was in the transfer portal and Notre Dame came around and offered me to come here, it sort of just felt like it was meant to be. So every day just feels like a blessing to be here. And I'm just super excited for this last opportunity," Coan said.

Coan set career highs with 366 yards and four touchdowns along with tying a career high with 26 completions in his first start with Notre Dame, a September win over Florida State. He passed for 2,641 yards and 20 touchdowns to six interceptions this season.

Coan can look back on his decision with zero regrets.

" A lot of positives came out of it for me as far as playing on a great football team, meeting a bunch of new friends and having great teammates and a new coaching staff, gaining more knowledge about football and so on. So, for me, it was a win-win," he said.

Coan was standing a few feet away from Irish offensive coordinator Tommy Rees, himself a former Notre Dame quarterback, when Rees was asked about Coan.

"Everything that we thought we were getting with Jack, we underestimated. I think he was more than we thought we were getting," Rees said. "From an intangible standpoint, personality standpoint, leadership, being the guy in the room, being the guy in front of the offense, that was all more than we anticipated."

Rees feels Coan's mental capacity as a quarterback is as high as anyone's in the nation, and called him underrated. He wished he had one more year with Coan.

"He's going to make a roster in the NFL next season. I have no doubt about it," Rees said.

Next RB up

With Notre Dame running back Kyren Williams' decision to skip the bowl game and not risk injury in preparation for the next NFL Draft, the Irish will turn to up to three backs to step in, sophomore Chris Tyree and freshmen Logan Diggs and Audric Estime.

Tyree and Diggs combined for 405 rushing yards and four touchdowns this season, with Williams putting up 1,005 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns and 42 catches for 359 yards and three touchdowns.

"There's a maturity and patience to his game. His ability to see things, react, keep things vertical on the front side when he needs to, not afraid to find the backside cut for a home run," Rees said of Diggs

Tyree missed some time with turf toe earlier in the season.

"I think that with all three of us being together and all three of us rotating, it will be really exciting to see," he said.

Oliver's better than OK for State

Oklahoma State defensive end Collin Oliver was too good to keep off the field from the start of this season as a true freshman, and he broke out on Oct. 2 against Baylor with three tackles for loss and two sacks.

Oliver registered at least a sack in eight of the Cowboys' final nine games of the season, including two in the Big 12 Championship Game on Dec. 4.

Oklahoma State defensive line coach Joe Bob Clements said he saw a maturity level in Oliver from when the Edmond, Oklahoma, native attended youth camp before his junior year of high school.

"By the end of the camp, I had gone off script and I was trying to teach him things that we were teaching our own players, and he was picking it up at that moment," Clements said. "So I knew he was going to be a good football player in time. Did I anticipate that it would happen this season? No, I didn't. I'm glad it did. He's obviously made a lot of plays for us, and a lot of it comes because of the leadership of that (locker) room. They've embraced him and brought him along and helped him along the way."

Oliver preserved his team's win in Bedlam, the annual rivalry game against Oklahoma, with a sack in the closing seconds of the game.

"I really expected this as a team. But for myself, honestly, I'm confident in myself, but I didn't expect this much, though," he said of his own success.

Going out together

There are six players on Oklahoma State's roster who will certainly be playing their final games as college football players, a group from 2020 who elected to stay and play an extra season following the NCAA eligibility ruling regarding COVID-19.

"I've been here for a while. So, obviously, it sucks a little bit, but I got bigger goals I'm trying to accomplish still," linebacker Devin Harper said. "And it's just on to the next opportunity in life after this. But still trying to go out with a bang and still get a big---- 'W' and go out with a bang with my fam, to be honest."

Linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez is the Cowboys' leading tackler this season, his last. He sported a cowboy hat when speaking with reporters.

"It's been awesome. I've been thankful and blessed to be here for all of my five years," he said. "And I'm just glad OSU took a shot on a small-town kid like me. ... I'll always come back to Stillwater and come visit."

Get in touch with Jose Romero at Jose.Romero@gannett.com. Find him on Twitter at @RomeroJoseM.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Fiesta Bowl: Notes from Notre Dame-Oklahoma State media sessions