How Notre Dame quarterbacks shined in 2024 Blue-Gold Game

Which Notre Dame quarterback performed best in Saturday’s Blue-Gold game?

It could have been junior Steve Angeli, who commanded the Blue team’s offense well and won the game with a 62-yard bomb to a wide-open graduate wide receiver Kris Mitchell. It could have been sophomore Kenny Minchey, who engineered one touchdown drive with his legs and finished another with an over-the-shoulder dime to freshman wideout Micah Gilbert. And it could have been freshman CJ Carr, who arguably made the fewest mistakes and tied the game late for the Gold team with a beautiful ball to Gilbert in between two defenders.

None were perfect, but there’s a case to be made for all three in the Blue team’s 28-21 win. That, to Irish head coach Marcus Freeman, was no surprise.

“I was really pleased overall, the entire spring, of what all three of those guys have done with the groups they’ve been in there with and the production they’ve really provided this offense,” Freeman said.

They’ve done it without the likely starter at the position, senior quarterback Riley Leonard. The Duke transfer said April 9 that he would have been 50-50 to play if it were a regular-season game, but holding him out of the Blue-Gold game was an easy decision.

With Leonard out, Angeli has worked with the first-team offense throughout spring ball. He started for the Blue team, completing 17 of his 25 pass attempts for 228 yards and 2 touchdowns.

In addition to the game-winner, he delivered a strike over the middle to junior tight end Eli Raridon to open the scoring. As he did when he played throughout the regular season and when he started the Sun Bowl, Angeli made the right reads, protected the football and hit the big play when it was there.

Angeli has come a long way since last season’s spring game, when his own coaches were skeptical he could even be a quality backup. But his mindset remained the same.

“I wouldn’t say my expectations changed,” Angeli said. “Every time I step on a field in a game-like setting, I’m out there doing my best to help this team win.”

On the Gold team, Minchey got off to a rocky start. He forced a pass over the middle that wound up in sophomore Notre Dame safety Luke Talich‘s hands, and his squad fell behind 14-0. But he willed the Gold team into the end zone by scrambling in the second quarter, and he flashed the “gunslinger”-style arm talent that will make him a starting quarterback at some point in his college career.

Minchey combined for 163 yards from scrimmage, between his arm and his legs. He hit sophomore wideout KK Smith for 38 yards the play before his 26-yard dot to Gilbert.

Carr, playing for both teams, threw for 165 yards and that game-tying touchdown. He should be making plans for senior ditch day at Saline (Mich.) High, but instead he spent his Saturday manipulating pockets and tossing lasers all over the field.

The ball moves differently out of Carr’s hand. He zips it, which Irish fans got to see first-hand for the first time Saturday. Each of the three underclassman quarterbacks brings something unique to the table.

“The QB room is extremely talented,” Mitchell said. “There’s a lot of competition, just healthy competition. They’re pushing each other every day, day in and day out.

“Just to see them battling through all the hard things they have to control in the offense, it’s a lot on their shoulders. Seeing them overcome that, it’s a lot, so I’m really proud of them boys.”

As spring ball ends, the attention now turns to the transfer portal. It is open for underclassmen until April 30, and Freeman has acknowledged the possibility that the Irish lose one of their four singal-callers during that window.

Leonard appears to be the present at Notre Dame, and there’s a strong chance that Carr is the future. All eyes are on Angeli and Minchey. But both quarterbacks, especially the former, have leaned toward embracing competition.

“We have a really strong room,” Angeli said. “I’m excited for fall camp and throughout the summer.”

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