Timetable for picking Notre Dame football's new QB? Marcus Freeman won't fall into that trap
SOUTH BEND — This three-way battle royal to be Notre Dame football’s next starting quarterback would make a heck of a reality show for Peacock.
Steve Angeli, Kenny Minchey and CJ Carr (listed in order of seniority, not likelihood) each have their obvious pluses and minuses.
What this fight won’t be, Irish coach Marcus Freeman seemed to indicate after Wednesday’s opening round, is a quick knockout.
“We’ll name a starter when a starter clearly shows that he's the best quarterback,” Freeman said. “I don't want to put a timetable on it and I refuse to do that.”
That’s his prerogative and the wisest approach to what can be a roster-splintering experience.
In addition to the 5 ½ months between now and the Labor Day weekend opener at Miami, there’s also the spring transfer portal. A 10-day window opens April 16, four days after Notre Dame's Blue-Gold Game.
After losing Tyler Buchner to Alabama in the portal days after the 2023 spring game, when it was obvious the job belonged to Sam Hartman, Freeman knows there’s no point in rushing things.
An artificial deadline to name a starter? Why?
“To me, if you don't have a decision made by then, it's going to frustrate you and there's no need to put a timetable on it,” Freeman said. “Let those guys compete, and when a starter is determined, we're going to announce it.”
Remembering Buchner-Pyne QB duel from 2022
Back in the fold as a lacrosse midfielder/walk-on wideout, Buchner is 1-1 in these Irish QB wars.
Back in 2022, it took until Aug. 13 for the Irish to name Buchner as their starter.
Drew Pyne took snaps for both Blue and the Gold teams that spring after Buchner rolled an ankle walking down the steps in the Gug. Pyne’s sad showing gave no indication he’d eventually go 8-2 after stepping in for an injured Buchner two games into the season.
The last-minute hero of that Blue-Gold exhibition was Angeli, an early-enrolled freshman with a three-star tag and modest expectations.
Now a rising fourth-year junior, Angeli has resisted the zeitgeist that would have suggested he transfer. Maybe not after Hartman showed up, but certainly once it became clear the baton had passed to Duke transfer Riley Leonard.
Instead, Angeli is still here, having led the Irish to a 2023 Sun Bowl victory over Oregon State and marching the two-minute offense to a game-turning field goal with Leonard ailing in the Jan. 9 CFP semifinal win over Penn State.
With Minchey (three career pass attempts) entering his third year and Carr (four career snaps) his second, the stage is set without an apparent favorite.
“I don't know if there's a perfect science that I'm going to be able to tell you right now that this is exactly how we're going to do it,” Freeman said. “But the general theme of it is they're all going to get reps with the ones. They're all going to get reps that we split.”
The tricky part os that between convalescence, load management and other sports-performance initiatives, trotting out a quorum of projected opening night offensive starters will be a near impossibility this spring.
Mishmash. Hodgepodge. Patchwork.
Choose your favorite adjective and roll with it.
“Each day could be different,” Freeman said, “but it's important for us to communicate with them beforehand, and no matter if they like what group they're going with or not, which it shouldn't matter, that we're upfront and honest with them and then we give them feedback after each practice.”
Prior coaching experiences from LSU, Cincinnati
It helps that offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock is in the second spring of his third tour in South Bend.
Quarterbacks coach Gino Guidugli is entering his third season, including a play-calling cameo with Angeli in the Sun Bowl.
Both coaches judged quarterback bake-offs at prior stops, most recently at LSU (Arizona State transfer Jayden Daniels over Garrett Nussmeier) and Cincinnati (Eastern Michigan transfer Ben Bryant over Evan Prater). Both decisions were made ahead of the 2022 season.
As for the Irish trio, Freeman chose to highlight their similarities over any hair-splitting differences.
“They've all got great arms; they all can throw the ball,” he said. “One's a senior that has been here that has experience. One's been here going into his second year. One's going into his third year. Is that a strength or a weakness? I don't know. That's to be determined.”
Mobility? That would seem to favor Minchey.
“Kenny might argue with me that he's as good as a runner as Riley, but I don't know,” Freeman said with a smile. “I think they all have similar skillsets with the ability to throw it, the ability if they need to keep the ball in their hands and extend the play or have an option to run the ball, they can.”
Decision-making? A three-way tie at this point, Freeman would tell you.
“I would think they all have similar skillsets,” he said. “There's nothing I'm going to say right now to say, 'Hey, they're separated.' Those three are competing. And I look forward to the competition. When one clearly shows that he's the best person to lead our offense, then he'll be named the starter.”
Until then, Freeman added: “I think it's going to be a fair competition. I know it's going to be a fair competition.”
Best bet? Check back in August.
Mike Berardino covers Notre Dame football for the South Bend Tribune and NDInsider.com. Follow him on social media @MikeBerardino.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Parsing what Marcus Freeman had to say about Notre Dame's 3-way QB war
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