Notre Dame freshman QB Blake Hebert bent on taking a front-burner approach
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — The way Notre Dame freshman Blake Hebert processes being the fourth alternative in a three-QB race this spring is anything but a back-burner mentality.
And through the first three practices of the 15 the Irish will stage this spring, reality has pretty much synched up with that.
“I’m getting a good number of reps actually, and every rep I’m trying to do my best,” Hebert said after a recent Irish practice. “Obviously, mistakes are coming. I’m new here. I’m new to a lot of the concepts that we’re running. So, if mistakes are happening, I’m just going to make them at full speed.
“Every day I'm attacking it with the same mentality. Just competing against myself, trying to get better. So, that's how I'm thinking about it.”
Related Content
► How Kenny Minchey is making case in Notre Dame football QB competition
► Why it may be time for Steve Angeli as starting QB for Notre Dame football
► Stronger CJ Carr focuses on daily messages in Notre Dame football QB battle
► Gritty Miles points the way as Notre Dame WBB thunders into the Sweet 16
► What Will Pauling believes Notre Dame WRs coach Mike Brown can do for him
And given that the transfer portal opens one last time this offseason for football — April 16-25 — it’s entirely possible Hebert will open the season Aug. 31 in Miami as the No. 3 Irish quarterback option, if not No. 2, once the pecking order among contenders to be the Notre Dame starter becomes clear to senior Steve Angeli, junior Kenny Minchey and sophomore CJ Carr.
And that’s whether or not Marcus Freeman announces 2024 starter Riley Leonard's successor to the world before August training camp, which has been his preferred timeline in quarterback derbies.
“They're all working their tails off,” Hebert said of the QBs directly competing to be No. 1. “I can see it. They're getting better every day. And they're honestly really helping me out. I'm the new guy just trying to really get my feet underneath me.
“So, they've been doing a great job just helping me and being patient. I'm trying to learn it all, you know? So I've been asking them a lot of questions. They've done a great job getting it back to me.”
And the 6-foot-2, 223-pound Hebert did a great job of getting a head start.
By mutual decision, he ended up as one of four ultra-early enrollees who came to ND in December, rather than mid-January, and filled scout team roles in practice for the last three legs of Notre Dame’s four-game College Football Playoff run.
Linebacker Madden Faraimo and safeties JaDon Blair and Ethan Long — the latter a high school teammate of Hebert’s at the Brunswick School in Greenwich, Conn., this past season — were the other three.
“I'll say the two main things are just taking reps against the starting defense, and then also seeing a game prep,” Hebert said of the benefits. “Especially for these high-caliber games, in the classroom and in the film room. That's the two main things for me.
“I mean, they're the best defense in the country, right?” he said of his daily competition. “But at the end of the day, it's football, just at a higher speed. I would say absolutely it's a different level, and it was awesome.”
Actually Hebert has been bumping up the speed quotient and competition level fairly constantly over the past several years.
At age 14, the British Columbia native and his family left Canada to move to the U.S. as they sought a steeper learning curve and better opportunities for the son of Arena Football League QB Ricky Hebert.
They settled in Massachusetts, where Ricky played football at NCAA Division II American International College and mom Carmen played soccer for the same school. Blake played his first three high school seasons at Lawrence (Mass.) Central Catholic and overlapped there for a year with ND junior linebacker Preston Zinter.
After missing most of his junior season with an ankle fracture, Blake Hebert took another step up in competition and enrolled at Brunswick, the alma mater of ND athletic director Pete Bevacqua, where Hebert teamed up with Long and January-enrolled freshman Matty Augustine, an offensive tackle.
Hebert initially verbally committed to Clemson in the summer of 2023, but flipped his commitment to ND 16 months later, in mid-October of 2024, after fellow four-star prospect Deuce Knight reneged on his Irish pledge and jumped into Auburn’s class late in the recruiting cycle.
“I came on one visit here, and we had a lot of phone calls beforehand in June of '23,” Hebert said. “So, we had gotten really tight just over those phone calls over that visit. That bond kind of lasted the year I guess, just without any communication. And then when they reached out, it kind of rekindled it.
“My first visit, I came that summer, obviously not a whole lot of people were here. Initially I loved it. It's just Notre Dame. Anybody would tell you just the history behind it and the success in the program, the coaching staff is great.
“But now getting here, it's lived up to all that and more.”
And now Hebert is trying to live up to his own expectations for himself.
Part of that process is doing what Leonard did last October during ND’s first bye week — making a concerted effort to understand the “whys” in offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock’s play-calling process and deciphering the playbook by getting to know the man who scripted it.
“Great man and great coach,” Hebert said. “Very cerebral. I'm just starting to kind of get into his head and see his thought process and why he's calling different things.
“But again, it's spring ball and we're kind of just running stuff to run it, just to rep it, and get the repetitions in. But he's a great coach, and I could see him helping this offense extraordinarily.”
As for Leonard, Hebert hopes to stay in touch with the now NFL-aspiring QB, who will be back on campus this week for ND’s Pro Day on Thursday in front of NFL scouts, coaches and personnel types.
“A great dude,” Hebert said. “His play on the field speaks for itself. I could go on about that. But just how he is off the field and behind closed doors, he's an awesome man. I know he's going to do great things at the next level.
“I think I could definitely take certain pieces of his game, his personality and implement them into mine. But at the end of the day, I'm Blake, I'm not Riley or I'm not anybody else.”
• Talk with Notre Dame fans on The Insider Lounge.
• Subscribe to the Inside ND Sports podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, SoundCloud, Podbean or Pocket Casts.
• Subscribe to the Inside ND Sports channel on YouTube.
• Follow us on Twitter: @insideNDsports, @EHansenND and @TJamesND.
• Like us on Facebook: Inside ND Sports
• Follow us on Instagram: @insideNDsports
Topics
-
Notre Dame fencer takes gold
Notre Dame's Chase Emmer wins his first titleYahoo Sports - 3d -
Notre Dame takes national fencing title
Notre Dame has yet another fencing titleYahoo Sports - 2d -
Stronger CJ Carr focuses on daily messages in Notre Dame football QB battle
The sophomore-to-be is the most buzzworthy member of a three-headed quarterback competition at Notre Dame that’s two spring football practices into a battle that likely won’t be decided until ...Yahoo Sports - 3d -
From CFP final to Blue-Gold Game, Notre Dame football tweaks its approach to spring practice
Notre Dame football's spring game dates to 1929 and was the brainchild of legendary coach Knute Rockne.Yahoo Sports - Mar. 14 -
Watch highlights of each of the Notre Dame QB’s who are competing for the starting job
Watch highlights of each of Notre Dame football’s quarterback who are battling it out for who will win the starting position.Yahoo Sports - 3d -
Watch: Highlights from Notre Dame football’s first spring practice of 2025
Watch some of Notre Dame’s defensive linemen, tight ends, wide receivers, quarterbacks and running backs in action.Yahoo Sports - 6d -
Clemson takes down Notre Dame behind Aidan Knaak's career-high strikeout performance
Clemson takes down Notre Dame behind a 12-strikeout performance from Aidan Knaak.Yahoo Sports - Mar. 14 -
Notre Dame baseball salvages weekend with a Sunday road victory over No. 10 Clemson
Notre Dame baseball was potentially going to get swept by No. 10 Clemson on Sunday, but they battled to take the series finale.Yahoo Sports - Mar. 16 -
Selection committee head explains why Notre Dame dropped to No. 3 seed
Does it make sense to you why Notre Dame was seeded where it was?Yahoo Sports - Mar. 17
More from Yahoo Sports
-
Lauren Macuga is skiing fast and having a blast doing it
Lauren Macuga from Park City, Utah, finished the World Cup season fourth in downhill rankings. She's a medal contender for the 2026 Olympics.Yahoo Sports - 20m -
Lauren Macuga is skiing fast and having a blast doing it
Lauren Macuga from Park City, Utah, finished the World Cup season fourth in downhill rankings. She's a medal contender for the 2026 Olympics.Yahoo Sports - 20m -
Swiatek gets extra security after harassment
World number two Iga Swiatek is receiving additional security at the Miami Open after she was harassed by a spectator during her practice.Media reports said that Swiatek was verbally harassed by a ...Yahoo Sports - 1h -
Raiders sign former Panthers veteran starting TE
Tuesday the Raiders added some depth to the tight end room with the addition of longtime Panthers TE Ian Thomas.Yahoo Sports - 4h -
Bengals show more pre-draft interest in notable name
More updates on the Bengals working ahead of the 2025 NFL draft.Yahoo Sports - 12h
More in Sports
-
Stanford 'needs a reset,' fires football HC Taylor
Stanford has fired football coach Troy Taylor amid allegations he mistreated staff members during his two years with the Cardinal.ESPN - 15m -
Asphyxiation ruled out in death of Gardner's son
Authorities in Costa Rica tell ESPN that possible asphyxiation has been ruled out in the death of 14-year-old Miller Gardner, son of ex-Yankee OF Brett Gardner, and that the investigation into the ...ESPN - 15m -
Fast-rising Smith, 22, makes roster for Astros
Cam Smith, 22, has made the Opening Day roster for the Astros. Smith's debut will come after he played in just 32 games in the minors last season.ESPN - 15m -
Angels RHP Johnson to skip minors, sources say
Angels right-hander Ryan Johnson is expected to become just the 24th player since the advent of the MLB draft to play in the big leagues without a minor league appearance, sources told ESPN's Jeff ...ESPN - 15m -
Sources: NBA cap to increase by 10% in '25-26
The NBA informed teams Tuesday that it intends the salary cap to increase 10% for the 2025-26 season, sources told ESPN on Tuesday.ESPN - 15m