2025 Notre Dame QB: Two Man Race

Last weekend, the Notre Dame spring game featured, for the first time in front of an audience the new era at QB. An era of uncertainty, as three non-transfer, highly recruited QBs battled for the starting position. The three being Junior Steve Angeli, Sophomore Kenny Minchey, and Freshman CJ Carr.

Head Coach Marcus Freeman said beforehand that the ideal situation is to have a two-man battle going into fall camp. Well, not even a week later, it is in fact now down to two, as Steve Angeli announced his intentions to transfer.

Before we dive into the now two-man race, Angeli deserves his flowers from us Irish fans. He could have left this time last year after an MVP-type performance in a Sun Bowl victory, especially with Riley Leonard coming in, marking the second straight year a transfer arrived with virtually no competition presented for him. Yet he stayed, became a leader from the sidelines, and in the Irish’s moment of need, Steve was there for us. In the College Football Playoff semifinals, he orchestrated a scoring drive before the half, cutting the game to a one-score lead and stealing some momentum for the boys to victory in the second half.

Coming into this spring, though, he just looked a bit outmatched by Carr and Minchey. Angeli didn’t look bad in last week’s spring game, but he didn’t pop like the other two. We’re nothing but thankful for the Irish graduate Steve Angeli and hoping for him to get his chance to lead a squad onto the field somewhere this fall.

Kenny Minchey vs. CJ Carr — 2025 Irish Starting QB

Let’s begin with the sophomore Kenny Minchey. His style of play is the most noticeable, with shades of 2024 Riley Leonard, the breakaway ability on the ground but also the arm strength to push the ball downfield. He showed his athleticism in many ways, including a highlight celebration. His excitement factor is hard to ignore, and his ability to extend plays into something big is a major asset. In today’s college football, that’s a difference-maker.

So, why not him, right? He fits. He’s talented. But as we saw Saturday, the arm accuracy isn’t always there. A few times, he seemed to get lost in the pocket, killing multiple scoring drives in the red zone. Part of this may come down to inexperience. In fairness to him, both QBs are young and heading into the season with fewer than 25 plays of live college football action. Still, from the tape and the eye test, Kenny Minchey looks like a guy who can start for a Power Four team.

NFL Comparison: Jalen Hurts

Grade: B-

Now to the rocket-armed freshman, CJ Carr. He doesn't have the breakaway athleticism of Minchey or 2024 Leonard, but he offers more mobility than Angeli. Think more Ian Book or Sam Hartman, able to move around and occasionally break out for a run. Arm-wise, though? Carr might have the best arm talent we’ve seen at Notre Dame since Jimmy Clausen or Brady Quinn. Yes, I said it!

He showed it early on with a perfectly placed deep throw for a big gain. His decision-making looks well ahead of most freshmen, and he did a better job than Minchey of avoiding negative plays and finishing drives in the end zone.

So again...why not him? Well, the big arm sometimes leads to overconfidence. He threw a pick, and turnovers are killers. Minchey didn’t have any. Still, the eye test favors Carr as well.

NFL Comparison: Joe Burrow

Grade: B

Sooooo… who is it?

We may not be able to answer that yet. Some will argue that’s a bad sign, but in this case, you should argue the opposite. We have two very good, very young QBs who both believe they can win this job and lead us to another exciting season of NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL.

With no clear winner out of spring, there is a leader in my opinion....and it’s CJ Carr. Not by much, and because of their different styles, a Carr-led offense with Minchey packages in certain game situations isn’t a bad idea to explore. This offense already has the run game, with multiple backs who could start or take the lion’s share of carries anywhere in the country. If we can pair that with a QB who can stretch the defense with his arm, it opens up the playbook completely.

Notre Dame football continues to launch forward after a magical season as national runner-up in 2024–25. We’ll miss so many important and exciting Irish legends, but plenty of new names are ready to break out: Carr, Minchey, Price, Burress, Blair, Black, and so many more. We are living in the new Luck of the Irish era. Let’s enjoy it.

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4-18

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