SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Notre Dame starting quarterback DeShone Kizer is a thoughtful guy who is trying not to think too much. He wants to focus on the field, on the BattleFrog Fiesta Bowl, on Ohio State's defense and not what's ahead. Because what's ahead is uncertain, and all the positive thinking in the world won't eliminate the possibility of disappointment.

For all he has accomplished this season in leading the Fighting Irish into the top 10 and a major bowl game, that won't eliminate the possibility of him not being Notre Dame's starting quarterback next season when Malik Zaire is again healthy.

Kizer repeatedly told reporters this week that he is focused on the Buckeyes, but he knows what everyone is thinking and, yeah, his thoughts have wandered there, too. He knows what's at stake in the spring and in preseason camp, and he knows how complicated things could get -- particularly if he falls from starter to No. 2. It's not just about the depth chart or the spotlight, either. It's also about the behind-the-scenes interactions, the social part of being part of a team and leading.

"I think the toughest part of that would be the way you go about your interactions in the locker room," he said. "The way you go about practice and meeting-room settings. When you know you are the guy and the coaches are trying to develop you, [they] give you the game. For that attention to change to someone else, after you kind of have a rhythm and kind of have an identity of who you are; I think that will be the toughest part. You want to become a leader as a quarterback, understand everyone’s personalities. To have someone else step into that role and for you to go into the background, that would be the toughest thing."

What Notre Dame faces next year is a battle between accomplished players with starting experience and comparable skill sets.

Kizer, who will have 11 starts under his belt after the Fiesta Bowl, will be the junior with more experience. Zaire will be the senior with just three starts to his credit, but he previously beat out Kizer to win the job. One might recall that after he won MVP of the Music City Bowl last year, it hastened Everett Golson out the transfer door.

Zaire opened with a brilliant performance in Notre Dame's blowout win against Texas to open the season, making the Irish immediately look like a national title contender. Then he fractured his ankle in Game 2 against Virginia, ending his season. Kizer came off the bench and threw a 40-yard touchdown pass to with 12 seconds left to win the game in dramatic fashion.

That helped alleviate any potential panic in the locker room.

"I knew enough to know we weren’t in as much trouble as some people might have thought [when Zaire went down]," linebacker Joe Schmidt said.

Just months before, Kizer was an afterthought, Notre Dame's No. 3 quarterback. Now he was The Man. Yet that could change over the next few months. Look no further for a cautionary tale than the Buckeyes, who began the season with three accomplished quarterbacks with starting experience -- J.T. Barrett, Cardale Jones and Braxton Miller -- and never seemed to find the consistent playmaking the perceived wealth of talent might suggest.

Barrett, who will make his fourth consecutive start and fifth overall this season in the Fiesta Bowl after displacing Jones at the No. 1 slot, is buddies with Zaire, and he knows what's ahead in the Notre Dame quarterback competition. It can get complicated. There are emotions inside the battle, and there are the obsessive observations from media and fans trying to read the tea leaves on who will eventually triumph.

"At the end of the day, be yourself. You can only be the best self you can be. That’s all you can do," Barrett said about Notre Dame's upcoming competition. "Understand that you can control what you can control. With that, you put yourself in the best position you can be in. Then let the coaches do their job and evaluate."

Though potentially complicated and emotional, make no mistake -- having more than one experienced quarterback isn't a bad thing. At least on the surface, at least if it is managed well.

"No. 1, it’s a good problem to have when you have a lot of talented players," Ohio State offensive coordinator Ed Warinner said.

That said, it's important to have a plan and communicate that plan. The first step is defining what Warinner called "separators." These are both objective stats -- completion percentage, passing efficiency, red zone and third-down conversions, etc... -- and subjective measures. A quarterback is constantly evaluated for his leadership ability, his ability to respond calmly to pressure and adversity and his ability to see the field -- to audible, improvise and create.

The coaching staff, Warinner said, then needs to make sure it's clear where everyone stands. That means explaining why a guy won the job and why a guy didn't.

Explained Warinner, "It’s constant communication and constant evaluation with those guys so they know where they’re at: 'Here’s the things you’re behind in. Here’s the things you are good at. Here’s the things you are ahead in'."

As for wounded egos, Warinner called it an important life lesson, for both on and off the field.

"Life isn’t always about everything going your way," he said. "Sometimes you work really hard and do a great job and you don’t get the promotion or you don’t get something that you really want, even though you did everything in your mind the right way. Just how it works out. You have to learn how to deal with that."

Notre Dame offensive coordinator Mike Sanford is, like Kizer, focused on the task at hand, but he also knows he will oversee perhaps the highest-profile quarterback competition in the country this spring.

"We’re going to be competitive but we are not going to be combative," Sanford said. "These guys really care about each other. That’s real. That’s not just press-conference fodder."

Oh, by the way, Kizer, Schmidt and Sanford all throw something else out about the upcoming competition.

Redshirt freshman Brandon Wimbush is also a heck of a talent.