Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1533229
BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM APRIL 2025 27 2025 S P R I N G F O O T B A L L O V E R V I E W BY TYLER HORKA W hat happened in 2022, Marcus Freeman's first year as Notre Dame's head coach, could have been enough to forever scare the skipper into making sure he picked up a quarterback from the transfer portal each and every offseason. And you couldn't blame him one bit if that was ultimately the case. That year, Notre Dame went into the season with nothing but home- grown quarterbacks — players who signed with the Fighting Irish out of high school. Sophomore Tyler Buchner beat out junior Drew Pyne for the start- ing job. By the spring of 2023, both quar- terbacks had transferred away from South Bend. And by the end of that season, it was clear neither would be a team's QB1 in 2024. Buchner went to Alabama and has since transferred back to Notre Dame to be a walk-on wide receiver and lacrosse player. Pyne transferred to Arizona State and then to Missouri to be the Tigers' backup quarterback. But after two straight cycles of bringing in a transfer quarterback, Sam Hartman in 2023 and Ri- ley Leonard in 2024, Notre Dame is rolling with what it's got again. The starting quar- terback at Miami Aug. 31 will be someone the Irish recruited, signed and developed. And as of the spring, it could realistically be any one of senior STEVE ANGELI, junior Kenny Minchey or soph- omore CJ Carr. It's one of the most piv- otal spring practice sessions in recent memory because of that. There's so much that could happen in March and April that will determine who's slotted into the most important position on the field for the Irish in August and beyond. Even more intriguing, all three of the can- didates have proponents and detractors among the Notre Dame fan base and even in the media. When someone is named a starter, and it could take until mid- August, there will be cheers. There will be groans. There will be opti- mism. There will be skepticism. If nothing else, it'll be worthy of a bucket of popcorn and appointment viewing. QUARTERBACKS POSITION BATTLE TO WATCH WHAT'S THE HIERARCHY? The fascinating thing about senior Steve Angeli, junior Kenny Minchey and sophomore C J CARR all battling for the starting job is that you could pick any ordering of the three and make a case for why it should be that way. And mix it up, do it again and make another sound, reasonable case. We'll find out in the spring a better idea of how the trio stacks up against each other in terms of a pecking order. PERSONNEL UPDATE Position Coach: Gino Guidugli (third season) Returning Starters: None Departing Starters: Riley Leonard (37 career starts, 16 at ND) Projected New Starters: Sr. Steve Angeli (1) Top Reserves: Jr. Kenny Minchey and So. CJ Carr Newcomers: Fr. Blake Hebert NUMBERS TO KNOW 4.0 Percent was Riley Leonard's sack rate in 2024, which was one of the best in the nation. In all, 149 quarterbacks had a worse sack rate than Leonard last season. Sack avoidance will be critical for whoever's named Notre Dame's new starter. 83 Career pass attempts for Notre Dame's quarterbacks in games at the college level. Senior Steve Angeli owns 80 of those. The other 3 belong to junior Kenny Minchey. 192.3 Pass efficiency rating for senior Steve Angeli during his Irish ca- reer. If he met the minimum threshold of 100 career pass attempts, which he's 20 away from, he'd have the best mark in Notre Dame history, by far. That's currently held by Jimmy Clausen (2009) and Bob Williams (1949) with a mark of 161.4. ALL EYES ON … STEVE ANGELI The time is now for the senior. He backed up Drew Pyne. He backed up Sam Hartman. He backed up Riley Leonard. He was an understudy in every one of those situations. Now he's the elder states- man. He just cannot lose the starting job to someone younger than him or that could spell the end of his Notre Dame career. PHOTO BY LARRY BLANKENSHIP