Analyzing, annotating and handicapping Notre Dame's upcoming QB-apalooza
Even though CJ Carr never came close during Notre Dame’s four-game playoff run to adding to the more four game reps he logged during the regular season, the elongated practice schedule deep into January may turn out to be a huge blessing for the sophomore-to-be Irish QB.
And perhaps make a difference in the most-pivotal, most-discussed and perhaps most-unpredictable as well of the position battles set to animate Wednesday morning, when Notre Dame stages the first of its 15 spring football practices.
Senior-to-be Steve Angeli, with 10 cameo reps combined in ND’s four playoff games, is ND’s most experienced option (94 regular-season snaps in 2024 and a start in the 2023 Sun Bowl) as well as the only former three-star prospect among the technically four — realistically three — contenders to be Riley Leonard’s successor.
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Junior Kenny Minchey has the most tantalizing skill set and yet appears to have the most distance to cover of the three returnees to become a finished product. Carr has the pedigree, recruiting and otherwise, the jaw-dropping flashes in practices, the air or a prodigy coupled with the work ethic of an underdog.
And full health. Something that eluded him for much of the regular season following his four-snap cameo in a 66-7 demolition of Purdue.
Though shrouded in vagueness and word salads throughout much of the season, a right (throwing) elbow injury to Carr that occurred early in the season in practice got a full reveal recently from head football trainer Rob Hunt.
“We had a 10-12 week return from within the first few days and executed it really well,” Hunt said during a March 6 press conference to discuss Notre Dame’s various spring injury/rehab scenarios.
“He’s done remarkable. It was just a super slow, intentional process that required very, very detailed and specific things that he had to accomplish. There was a period of rest. There was a period of light work and training that then went into a throwing program.
“I think he was probably more frustrated than anyone, just because he’s so competitive.”
Carr’s return to full activity came in December, as the Irish were prepping for their Dec, 20 playoff opener against Indiana. And the deeper the playoff run went, the more Carr had a chance to play catchup.
“It was super intentional that really by the first of October we knew that he wasn’t going to be doing any meaningful team reps until December,” Hunt said. “The advantage for us was that he actually had opportunities in December and January to actually get some work. It was a good thing for us to actually have that runway.”
Ultra-early freshman enrollee Blake Hebert is the one scholarship QB not expected to vie for a climb to the top of the depth chart, but he won’t be a complete afterthought either. His spring development, added to his late-December/January scout-team work, could turn out to be critical depending on if and how many QBs hit the eject button during the spring transfer portal period, April 16-25.
Keep in mind the calendar twist this year. The April 12 Blue-Gold Game will not be the wrapup to spring practice. ND will hold a few — perhaps up to three practices — after the Blue-Gold game to decompress the spring practice window a bit. Those will conclude before the spring portal window closes.
The pick here is that Carr will emerge from the No. 3 spot and start against Miami, Aug. 31, in Hard Rock Stadium at Miami Gardens, Fla.
Here are some things to watch/consider along the way:
• Don’t expect head coach Marcus Freeman to put a specific timeline on naming a starter. And given his history with QB derbies, he’ll likely defer to August training camp, even if there’s a clear leader by spring’s end from the outside looking in.
• The three QB contenders, and even Hebert, should benefit from having continuity with the offensive coordinator/play-caller (Mike Denbrock) and the QBs coach (Gino Guidugli), so they’re not going to have the competition muddied by having to learn a new scheme.
But it’s a scheme that should and will evolve to fit these QBs’ skill sets as well as the ones around them. The offensive line should be much better. The running backs should be arguably one of the best, if not the best, nationally. There figures to be an ascending wide receiver corps, though with plenty of question marks. Then there’s the iffiest tight end group in a while, at least this spring until transfer Ty Washington and freshman James Flanigan arrive in June.
• Speaking of scheme tweaks, no one among the QBs is going to run the ball as often — 187 carries, 21 more than starting running back Jeremiyah Love — or as well as Leonard did in 2024 (4.9 yards per carry with a school-record 17 rushing TDs).
Or be the third- and fourth-down conversion machine that he was with his legs. But don’t expect a return to Sam Hartman-type rushing numbers either (45 carries in 12 games). Whoever the QB will get intentional carries, not just sacks and escapes.
Beyond running, consistency matters. Minimizing turnovers is valued. But what about upside? That’s the X factor in this QB race. It was in the last one as well.
Angeli had the higher floor coming out of spring in 2024, with Leonard’s two ankle surgeries and him missing all but the first few spring practices contributing to that equation. But Leonard’s potential wasn’t as much of a guess, because at least there was a body of work from Duke, where he played his first three seasons.
Minchey and Carr don’t have that card to play. So their potential upside is going to have to play out in real time in the spring.
Where might Freeman/Denbrock/Guidugli be looking for an upgrade over Leonard? Pass efficiency.
At 49th in team pass-efficiency in 2024, Notre Dame ranked 12th among the 12 College Football Playoff teams, with national champ Ohio State first among playoff teams and third in the 133-team FBS.
In fact, of the 52 teams that have played for a national title in the BCS/Playoff Era (1998-present) only one reached that plateau with a team pass efficiency standing lower than this year’s ND team. And that’s the 2012 Irish, of the Everett Golson/Tommy Rees QB tag team, that was 74th.
Some of Notre Dame’s former players who attended the NFL Scouting Combine a few weeks ago were asked to handicap the coming QB race, and all of them hedged against picking a favorite, but here is what Leonard offered:
“Those guys really changed my life in a lot of different ways,” he said. “I owe them the world. To be a transfer quarterback to come in there, for them to accept me the way that they did kinda means the world to me. But, yeah, each guy’s got a special trait to them.
“Steve, obviously — everybody loves Steve. He’s an outstanding person, outstanding football player. I hope y’all don’t twist these. Every single one of them can start. Kenny, freak athlete who knows a lot of ball. He’s just a football guy. Then CJ as well is a football guy. Huge competitor.
“So all those guys are going to be really rooting for each other, because we’re so close. Somebody’s gonna have to come out on top, but at the end of the day we’re all just rooting for each other and the best version of Notre Dame.”
| No. | Player | Height | Weight | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
18 | Steve Angeli | 6-2 | 208 | Sr./Jr. |
8 | Kenny Minchey | 6-2 | 207 | Jr./So. |
12 | CJ Carr | 6-3 | 210 | So./Fr. |
Blake Hebert | 6-3 | 220 | Fr./Fr. |
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