Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM JANUARY 2026 9 UNDER THE DOME Gino Guidugli Developed Three Starting Quarterbacks By Jack Soble And he picked the right one for Notre Dame, of course, but that's not the most impressive part of the job Guidugli did — not only in 2025, but since he took over as quarterbacks coach in 2023. In his time in South Bend, Guidugli has had multiple years to develop Steve Angeli, Kenny Minchey and CJ Carr. Bear in mind, the odds of a given school finding three legitimate Power Four-level starting quarterbacks in three recruiting cycles are just not very high. It was easy to be skepti- cal of Irish head coach Marcus Freeman during spring practice when he said he legitimately believed he had three signal-callers he could win with, because that does not happen very often. However, Freeman wasn't lying. Angeli transferred to Syracuse, where he operated the Orange's high-volume passing offense beautifully before tearing his Achilles tendon in Week 4. Syracuse was rolling with Angeli and has imploded since he got hurt, starting 3-1 and finishing 3-9. Carr won the starting job at Notre Dame and finished the regular season tied for third nationally (and first in the Power Four) with 9.4 yards per attempt, earning finalist honors for the Manning Award and the Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award. Meanwhile, by all accounts, Minchey pushed Carr to his limit in fall camp. Given Carr's success and everything Minchey has done in blowouts this season (20 of 26 for 196 yards, plus 7 carries for 84 yards and 1 touchdown), there is absolutely no reason the Hendersonville, Tenn., product shouldn't get his shot to start somewhere in 2026. To develop three young quarterbacks that well, all while trying to get the most out of two transfer starters in Sam Hartman and Riley Leonard, is noth- ing short of phenomenal work by Guidugli. Mike Mickens Rose To The Occasion — And Then Some By Eric Hansen Notre Dame was sitting on a fault line in mid-September with a first-year defensive coordinator in Chris Ash, whose numbers being produced on the field looked absolutely VanGorder-esque. Defensive backs coach Mike Mickens could have made a power play, or at least sulked about getting passed over last winter when Broy-les Award winner Al Golden left for an NFL coaching job. Instead of adding to the problem, Mickens became part of the solution, working with Ash to help concoct a historic defensive turnaround that has the Irish in position to finish the season/postseason as one of the statistically best units at Notre Dame in the 2000s. That alone would be enough to build a strong case for the sixth-year Irish assistant coach to earn the distinc- tion of Notre Dame's Most Valuable Assistant Coach in 2025 on a staff saturated with worthy candidates. But consider that during the offseason Mickens and Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman put together the nation's top defensive backs class in the 2026 cycle led by five-star signees Khary Adams and Joey O'Brien. And that during Notre Dame's climb from the No. 103 pass efficiency de- fense in the FBS to 13th going into conference championship weekend, the Irish's 37-15 rout of Pitt Nov. 15 was the only game since the season opener that the entire starting secondary was injury-free and available to play. Sophomore cornerback Leonard Moore is a shoo-in for first-team All- America status, and safeties Adon Shuler and Tae Johnson, a redshirt sopho- more and redshirt freshman, respectively, will be in at least the periphery for national recognition. Mickens is a coaching star in the making, but his ability to blend and col- laborate and bring out the best in players and coaches alike may be his most underrated asset. Point ✦ Counterpoint: WHO WAS NOTRE DAME'S MOST VALUABLE POSITION COACH IN 2025? Vagas Ferguson hopes to meet Notre Dame Heisman Trophy candidate Jeremiyah Love in person someday. For now, the 68-year-old Irish single-season record-holder for rushing yards in a season will settle for a meeting in the record book. The junior running back (1,372) was closing in on Ferguson's 1,437 yards amassed in 1979 be- fore the Irish's 2025 campaign ended prematurely. "I haven't had a chance to meet the coach yet," Ferguson said of Marcus Freeman. "And I haven't had a chance to meet [Love]. I'm sure he's a delight- ful person. And I would love to meet him as well, get up there to do that. I just haven't had a chance to." Blue & Gold Illustrated had a chance to catch up with the former Irish All-American and 1980 NFL Draft first-rounder recently during the WSBT Game- Day show Nov. 29 ahead of the Notre Dame-Stan- ford game. Here are highlights from that interview. BGI: Your single-season rushing record has sat there since 1979 and nobody's touched it. And Jeremiyah Love needs 132 yards to break it [prior to the Stanford game, when he compiled 66]. What has it meant to you that the record has stood for so long? Ferguson: "It's a testament to the people I played with. For me to have a record still up there meant that I had a lot of good guys in front of me, blocking for me. "It's a nice honor, but you always have to re- member, it's a team game, and records are made to be broken. It wouldn't sadden me at all. I'll be rooting for [Love] either way." BGI: What are your impressions of Love's side- kick, Jadarian Price? Ferguson: "He's a guy that can run kickoffs back. He can catch passes. He can do it all. He's like an all-purpose back. He could be a starting running back for anybody in the country. I'm thankful he stayed at Notre Dame." BGI: What about next year, when Love and likely Price, too, have left for the NFL? Is the future still bright with guys like Aneyas Williams and Nolan James Jr.? Ferguson: "It's a fact, no doubt about it. If they can keep the offensive line going, they will be outstanding. If they can keep a good line in front of them, they're going to continue to be a threat." BGI: What was your strategy as a running back? Ferguson: "I didn't want to get hit. I tell people all the time 'Either I'm going down or I'm going out of bounds. You're not going to get a clean shot on me.' "I don't know what Jeremiyah and the other backs are thinking, but I get out of there. I was going to be walking at the end of the day." BGI: How many games do you get to come up to Notre Dame in a season? Ferguson: "Me and crowds just don't get along. I could go to every game, but I don't want to be around a whole lot of people. When we have our national championship [reunion] gathering, I go back for them. "That's like every five years. The games to me, I'd rather watch them at home. I'm getting a little older now. But when I do get up there, it's special." — Eric Hansen Five Questions With … FORMER NOTRE DAME RUNNING BACK VAGAS FERGUSON Ferguson has held Notre Dame's single-season rushing record (1,437 yards) since 1979, and it is safe for another year with Jeremiyah Love's 2025 season (1,372 yards) ending prematurely. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS GUIDUGLI MICKENS