Imagine you are a Notre Dame fan in your 20s or 30s, eyes locked in on the Irish’s elusive dream of the Natty. Head propping up scenarios of joy to see the charming Marcus Freeman, or another coach for that matter, finally lifting the trophy. The curse looks to break finally after almost 4 decades of desperate wait. Notre Dame is on the cusp of breaking free from their shackles of defeats and snatching victory from Ohio State. Only to see the dream fail and fall. But imagine this is the highest point you’re going to get with the Irish. After this, Notre Dame again falls into oblivion. What then?
Your kids ask you, “Dad/Mom, how good was Riley Leonard?” Your eyes beam with tears and a slight smile on your face. You tell them about a player who showed the Irish how to dream. Riley Leonard’s story, in that sense, will be told with more and more compassion as time passes. People who have berated him for being a QB with not much to offer will gradually realize how good Riley Leonard truly was.
A player who produced 2,861 passing yards at a 66.7% completion rate for 21 touchdowns ran like his life depended on it and gave a season to remember. His ability to penetrate that red zone like a persistent badger hell-bent on finding water made a problem for defenses. Leonard rushed for 906 yards and scored 17 touchdowns. That, too, was when he had to face top 5 teams back-to-back in the playoff. All that after coming off of a massive season-ending injury. The player hardly deserves the disrespect he sometimes gets when he is undersold. Particularly in the draft situations. This begs the question: Can CJ Carr, Kenny Minchey, or Steve Angeli even come close to him?
David Pollack, a college football insider, was asked the same question on the ‘See Ball Get Ball with David Pollack’ podcast. His answer is quite apt amid the QB dilemma that Marcus Freeman is facing.
Without even blinking, he said, “No, not getting better, absolutely.” He also added. “I couldn’t be a bigger fan of Riley Leonard. I don’t think people understood how athletic that freak was. He just took off and ran and ran consistently. And consistently made plays, and people are just, ‘Oh, that’s crazy, how did he do that?’ He did it because he’s a freak, he’s an athlete.”
NCAA, College League, USA Football 2025: CFP National Championship Ohio State vs Notre Dame JAN 20 January 20, 2025: Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame offensive lineman Pat Coogan 78, and Notre Dame offensive lineman Rocco Spindler 50 sing the Alma Mater after College Football Playoff National Championship game action between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. John Mersits/CSM/Sipa USA Credit Image: John Mersits/Cal Media/Sipa USA Atlanta Mercedes-Benz Stadium Georgia United States of America NOxUSExINxGERMANY PUBLICATIONxINxALGxARGxAUTxBRNxBRAxCANxCHIxCHNxCOLxECUxEGYxGRExINDxIRIxIRQxISRxJORxKUWxLIBxLBAxMLTxMEXxMARxOMAxPERxQATxKSAxSUIxSYRxTUNxTURxUAExUKxVENxYEMxONLY Copyright: xCalxSportxMediax Editorial use only
What Pollack is essentially saying is that Riley Leonard played multiple sports, such as basketball. So, the QB had the athleticism and running ability to provide those third and fourth-down red-zone runs. However, the players who are available right now do not provide the same abilities and potential that Riley Leonard had. Take, for example, CJ Carr, who joined in the 2024 class as a four-star QB ranked 6th in his position. The player hasn’t seen a single snap yet and has only offered glimpses in practices. His high school starts and tape do provide some perspective as he notched up 6,000+ yards for 70+ touchdowns, but is it enough?
Then there is another player who is widely being touted to be the successor of Leonard. That being Steve Angeli, who has some amount of experience under his belt. He passed for 268 yards last season for a completion rate of 66.7%. His rushing prowess isn’t that pronounced, as he has just 36 rushing yards registered in the CFB. The red-shirt junior quarterback still has his 2023 season as his highlight, where he threw for 504 yards at a 77.3% completion rate, scoring 7 touchdowns. Still, in a dual-threat scenario, Angeli is far behind Leonard.
Steve Angeli’s QB1 spot in jeopardy?
Now comes the third quarterback, who resembles Riley Leonard in a dual-threat scenario with incredible arm talent and running speed. A former top 175 recruit picked from Hendersonville. Kenny Minchey, on paper, has everything that Marcus Freeman would need. He even claimed earlier that he would beat Leonard in the running game. Gino Guidugli, the quarterbacks coach of the Irish, also seemed to be leaning on the opinion. Now, Tyler Horka, an Irish Insider, also talks about the same thing.
“Kenny Minchey thinks he’s faster than Riley Leonard, and maybe he can do a little more with his legs than Riley Leonard. Freeman wasn’t going to go as far as to say that. But Guli [Gino Guidugli] went as far as to say, Yeah, I think he is the most athletic quarterback. The quarterbacks who have been really impressive over the last 10-15-20 years in college football are the guys who, yeah, they can make all the throws, but they can also do some things with their legs that put them in the category of a magician, maybe that is what Kenny Minchey is. We’ll see if that manifests”.
The QB1 spot right now at Notre Dame is up for grabs, and there is still no clear winner decided. Minchey, who joined in the 2023 class, has also waited enough for two seasons for his break. So far, his involvement under the Center for the Irish has been very sporadic.
That essentially means he will be looking to grab the elusive QB1 spot after two years on the sidelines. A player standing at 6’2” and weighing around 207 lbs, he has a good high school career to back him too. In that, he had produced 5,212 yards at an average of 15 yards per throw. But can he translate the same success to his QB1 battle and deliver the heroics like Riley Leonard? Also, if Minchey will be the QB1, does that mean Angeli’s spot is doomed?
The post Marcus Freeman Hit With Riley Leonard Wake-Up Call As Steve Angeli’s Notre Dame Future Nearly Confirmed in Latest Intel appeared first on EssentiallySports.
