Notre Dame down to CJ Carr, Kenny Minchey vying for top QB

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Notre Dame's quarterback competition will continue into the summer, as freshman CJ Carr and sophomore Kenny Minchey will vie for the top job after senior Steve Angeli entered the transfer portal.

Angeli, who served as Notre Dame's primary backup the past two seasons and led a key scoring drive in the CFP semifinal win against Penn State, had the most experience entering the spring. But he entered the portal Thursday, before Notre Dame had wrapped up its spring session. Angeli then announced Wednesday night he was transferring to Syracuse.

All three quarterbacks played April 12 in the Blue-Gold Game, when Carr performed best with 170 passing yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception. 

"Both, we believe, have the ability to be the starting quarterback," coach Marcus Freeman said Wednesday of Carr and Minchey, who has appeared in four games in two seasons at Notre Dame. "Both have done a tremendous job improving through spring practice."

Freeman and offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock said all three quarterbacks performed well during the spring, but dividing practice reps into thirds limited the evaluation. Notre Dame expected to reduce the candidate pool before the summer.

Notre Dame is replacing starting quarterback Riley Leonard, a transfer from Duke who helped the Irish to their first three CFP wins and a spot in the national title game. The Irish have gone with experienced transfers at quarterback in the past two seasons with Leonard (Duke) and Sam Hartman (Wake Forest) in 2023.

"I don't know that our goal was necessarily to name a starter at the end of the spring, as much as it was to identify, 'OK, let's get this to a manageable number,' which most people would agree is two, and then allow those guys to battle," Denbrock told ESPN. "The final decision, obviously, was a very difficult one to make. Who are you going to have a hard conversation with out of that group? Because we can win, in my opinion, with any of those guys."

Minchey, a Tennessee native, was ESPN's No. 5 dual-threat quarterback recruit in the 2023 class. He has only three career pass attempts and two runs. Carr, the grandson of former Michigan coach Lloyd Carr, was the No. 2 pocket passer and No. 36 overall recruit in 2024. He redshirted last season after an injury to his throwing elbow surfaced in late September, but he did not require surgery and went through the spring at full strength.

Angeli, who will earn his degree from Notre Dame, was the No. 179 overall recruit in the 2022 class and had 10 touchdown passes and one interception for the Irish, completing 50 of 88 attempts. Earlier this month, Syracuse named Rickie Collins, a transfer from LSU, as its starter. The Orange must replace top quarterback Kyle McCord, a transfer from Ohio State who led the FBS with 4,779 passing yards last season.

Freeman said Notre Dame would have named a starter if one quarterback had clearly separated himself, but added he was "never put into a situation where I felt like we needed to." The next Irish starter will play behind an offensive line filled with starting experience, and throw to a group of receivers that Freeman and Denbrock think will be significantly deeper.

Notre Dame will resume practices in the summer ahead of a challenging opening stretch that begins Aug. 31 at Miami, followed by hosting Texas A&M on Sept. 13.

"Neither of them have played meaningful plays snaps in a game, so when you have a QB competition, you put them in some of those pressure situations before they have to go do it," Freeman told ESPN. "I love competition, period, so I'm excited for the future of our quarterback room."