Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM SUMMER 2025 19 points in the national semifinal. Minchey had neither the experience nor the pedigree. He was stuck in the middle. And for that reason, many peo- ple — this writer included — counted him out. The Hendersonville (Tenn.) Pope John Paul II product had to earn his way into the quarterback competition in South Bend, and he did. From Minchey's first rep during Notre Dame's scrimmage April 5, he looked like a different player. He looked more confident. He was slinging the ball around the field. He was accurate, par- ticularly while he rolled out or scram- bled to his right. He recognized man coverage and used his athleticism to punish it. As spring practice moved along, word started to trickle out that Minchey was impressing. Notably, former Florida State and NFL quarterback Danny Kanell said on the "Cover 3" podcast that he talked to an NFL Hall of Famer whose son plays for Notre Dame (Kanell recently attended a golf tournament in Canton, Ohio, with Jerome Bettis). "He talked to his son, and he said somebody who's been making a lot of plays is Minchey," Kanell said. Minchey's physical tools were never in question. He was always the most athletic of the three. He has a strong and, just as significantly, elas- tic arm (meaning he can generate ve- locity when his feet aren't set). The question, however, was the mental side. No one doubted Minchey's intel- ligence or his ability to be a good teammate. He is, by all accounts, one of the most beloved players in the locker room. But was he competitive enough? Could he lead 11 players in a huddle? Could he rescue the Irish when things got tough? It appears he answered some, if not all, of those questions in spring prac- tice. He has a legitimate chance to start at Miami. CARR SHOWED SPECIAL TRAITS Marcus Freeman likes to talk about faith, and not just the religious kind. Trust without knowing, he often says. Carr, facing an all-out blitz on fourth-and-long during the April 5 scrimmage, had to trust without knowing. He had to have faith that Eli- jah Burress would run his deep post cor- rectly, and he knew, based on the pres- sure, that there would be no safety help over the top. He also had to trust in his ability as a quarterback to put the ball in the right spot, just between Burress' defender and the back of the end zone. And he did. Carr, more than Notre Dame's other two quarterbacks in spring practice, showed he can throw receivers open with pinpoint accuracy, even when he faced pressure. He did it twice more in the Blue- Gold Game April 12. First, he dropped a dime in a tight window between starting safety Adon Shuler and the sideline, right into the hands of grad- uate student tight end Kevin Bauman. Later in the drive, he fit a ball into an even tighter window with Shuler in coverage, this time to sophomore tight end Jack Larsen. His dot to Bauman came under du- ress, too. His first read was to the flat, but he waited for a bigger opportu- nity to open up. Notre Dame hasn't seen pocket presence like that from a quarterback that young in quite some time. Carr could stand to be more consis- tent, as all second-year signal-callers could. He also has far fewer practice reps under his belt than Minchey, having missed several months of scout team work due to an elbow in- jury suffered in September. But he flashes NFL-level throws on a regular basis, making his ascent seem like a matter of when, not if. ✦ Is Tyler Buchner Back? Marcus Freeman confirmed Notre Dame will consider moving Tyler Buchner, who rejoined the Irish as a walk-on wide receiver last May, back to the quarterback room for his final season of eligibility. "Yeah, that's something we've discussed," the Irish head coach said. "We'll look at the total number of arms, bodies that we have to practice, but it's definitely under consideration to be able to move Tyler back into the quarterback room as we look into the summer and fall camp." Buchner will not factor into the QB1 competition, but he would provide emergency insurance in case Minchey and Carr both go down and freshman Blake Hebert isn't ready. His voice as a veteran who has started games for both Notre Dame and Alabama will be valuable, too. Riley Leonard has said Buchner's advice helped him through his early struggles last season. If that position switch happens — and it certainly sounds like it will — it will complete one of the most fascinating journeys of any Notre Dame athlete in recent memory. Buchner went 1-2 as a starter for the Irish in 2022, losing to Ohio State and Marshall before suffering a left shoulder injury. After Freeman and company brought in Sam Hartman for 2023 and it became clear Buchner would not hold him off, he bolted for Alabama. Buchner would later write that Tuscaloosa, Ala., never felt like home. South Bend did. He came back, not as a quarterback or even a football player, but as a lacrosse player. After winning the men's lacrosse national championship, he went to Freeman and asked to rejoin the football team in any capacity. "As I was leaving Alabama, I had scholarship opportunities to play quarterback elsewhere," Buchner wrote. "Even though I knew I was potentially giving up on my football dreams, I turned them down and told my parents that I would pay my way through school because I only wanted to be at Notre Dame." Buchner did throw one pass in 2024: A 23-yard completion to tight end Mitchell Evans on a fake punt. He could throw many more if disaster strikes in 2025. — Jack Soble Carr displayed an innate ability to throw receivers open with pinpoint accuracy, even when he faced pressure, throughout spring practice. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER