Notre Dame HC Marcus Freeman has the ultimate decision to make this offseason. Quarterback Riley Leonard led the Fighting Irish to the national championship game last year, but he’s set off for his professional career as he was selected in the sixth round of the 2025 NFL draft by the Indianapolis Colts.
Last season’s backup QB, Steve Angeli, has committed to Syracuse as a graduate transfer, leaving Freeman with redshirt freshman CJ Carr and sophomore Kenny Minchey. As the Fighting Irish look to continue 2024’s success, who will step up and be QB1?
Marcus Freeman Reveals Notre Dame Quarterback Plans for 2025
Speaking to ESPN’s Greg McElroy on Always College Football, Freeman reveals what he has in mind concerning Notre Dame’s quarterback situation ahead of next season.
We’ve got two guys that were really battling with Steve in the spring with CJ Carr and Kenny Minchey,” Freeman said.
“And both did really good things. Both, as you evaluate the quarterback position, have an extremely high ceiling. They both do things really, really well, and they do them differently. Our job is to say, who’s going to give us the best chance to win as we get ready to face an opponent? And those questions will be answered by the quarterbacks during fall camp.”
He continued, “I love it because I love competition. Now, you can add a little bit of pressure through competition to see who can perform under those high-pressure situations. I think they’re both capable of being the starting quarterback at Notre Dame, or they wouldn’t be in this quarterback battle.”
“But I’m looking forward to an extremely challenging and high-pressure fall camp,” he added.
Freeman also revealed that Notre Dame could potentially use the two quarterbacks together if the chance to win a game requires it.
“You’re going to look for any way to help your team win,” he said. “And if that means you use two quarterbacks for certain situations, then you’re going to find a way to use two quarterbacks. That might mean two quarterbacks on the field at the same time. Who knows?”
“Creativity is so important, and we have some creative football coaches and players here,” Freeman continued. “We’ll come up with the right plan. You’re going to have one starter. You’re going to have one guy who’s going to be your quarterback. But I could see us using both quarterbacks to find a way to help us win.”
Notre Dame lost to Ohio State in the championship game last year, and Freeman will hope one of Minchey, Carr, or a combination of the two will get them over the line this year. They’ll have some serious tests to get back to the College Football Playoff, though.
On their schedule, they have Miami, Texas A&M, Purdue, Arkansas, Boise State, NC State, USC, and Pittsburgh.
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