Just over a month later, as Thatcher underwent a 17-hour procedure that removed 95 percent of the tumor, Kizer sat in a waiting room inside the Ohio State James Cancer Hospital and posted updates to the online blog he and Thatcher share. Once the operation was over, Kizer drove the 271 miles back to South Bend for the Irish’s spring game the next day, only to return to Columbus as soon as it was over.

In previous posts on the blog, Kizer had acknowledged finding himself distracted during spring workouts as his mind shifted to Thatcher’s condition at Ohio State. As tough as the situation was for each of them, Thatcher understood Kizer was doing all he could to manage both his priorities.

“I knew football was something that would take his mind off of it and kind of cheer him up when days weren’t so good,” Thatcher said. “But then when he was at football, he was thinking about what I was doing and about how he wasn’t here. It was hard for him, at times, to balance everything, but we figured it out.”

Kizer was forced to figure out a plan on Sept. 12, when Zaire, who had become the starter when Golson transferred to Florida State, broke his ankle in a win over Virginia and was lost for the season. At times since, Kizer has resembled the poised and trusted competitor his teammates have seen emerge. In other instances, he has shown the blemishes of what he was only nine games ago: a former third-stringer thrust without warning into the role of starter.

That transition was eased through the bond that developed between the quarterbacks this year on long drives to Columbus, where Kizer would spend time with Thatcher, and Zaire, another Ohio native, would visit friends. Kizer said he and Zaire had made the four-hour drive to Ohio State four or five times, bonding on the long car rides through discussions about life, football, game situations and how to thrive in the role of backup quarterback, unaware at the time that each would soon be named the starter.

“We were just able to talk through all the situations and become closer in that sense and truly become friends rather than just enemies on the field when it came to competing for the position,” Kizer said.