South Bend is buzzing, but not necessarily in a good way. With the 2025 season creeping closer, Marcus Freeman is staring down a quarterback battle that has no clear winner—at least not yet. Riley Leonard, the guy who led the Irish to that unforgettable national championship upset against Ohio State, is off to the NFL. And now, all eyes are on who takes the reins. The options? Steve Angeli, a veteran who’s been waiting for his shot. Kenny Minchey, a dynamic talent with plenty of upside. And then there’s CJ Carr—the five-star prodigy with football royalty in his veins. But Carr’s journey hit a speed bump last season with an elbow injury. Marcus Freeman’s QB dilemma ain’t getting any better, especially after the latest tea on CJ Carr’s Notre Dame injury update.
On March 7th, Notre Dame insider Jack Soble dropped some key updates on ‘Notre Dame Football on Blue & Gold’ podcast, breaking down Carr’s rehab and where he stands heading into the spring game. “I think we didn’t really have—or didn’t have—as concrete as we had before from Rob Hunt,” Soble said, referring to Notre Dame’s head athletic trainer.
“Hunt said it was a 10-to-12-week rehab process, and Carr executed it really well. It was a slow, intentional process. I think they—they knew, as Marcus Freeman said at the time, that they could afford to be very slow with it because, obviously, CJ Carr wasn’t starting. If—if he was the starting quarterback, they might have—they might have rushed his progress a little bit more. But I—I think they just wanted to be slow and cautious. Right now, though, he’s 100%. And he will be good to go for Spring ba-l.” Well, that’s a game-changer. For months, speculation swirled about whether Carr would be ready, and now, there’s no doubt—the kid is back. No more injury excuses. But the Irish aren’t exactly rushing him to the front of the line.
On Thursday, On3’s Tyler Horka confirmed via X that Carr’s officially cleared and ready to compete. “Notre Dame athletic trainer Rob Hunt says quarterback CJ Carr will be a full participant in Fighting Irish spring practices after dealing with an elbow injury for much of last fall. He’s completely recovered. Big news for the redshirt freshman going into a QB competition,” Horka tweeted. Big news? Definitely. But does it change the landscape of Notre Dame’s QB room? Not so fast.
Notre Dame appears content letting Steve Angeli take the lead role heading into the spring game, with Carr and Minchey pushing from behind. If Freeman wanted Carr as the clear-cut guy, they would’ve sped up his recovery. Instead, they played it safe, letting Angeli soak up first-team reps while Carr rehabbed. But now that Carr is healthy, things are about to get interesting. The competition is wide open, and with three quarterbacks in the mix, nobody’s guaranteed anything at South Bend.
Former Notre Dame tight end, Mitchell Evans, is all on CJ Carr’s hype train and showed big-time love to future QB1: “He’s a young prodigy. There’s a lot of talk about him, and I kind of believe it seeing the way he works and the way he handles himself. When his number is called, we’ll be in good hands.” Look, Carr ain’t just some regular recruit, either. Football runs deep in his veins—he’s the grandson of legendary Michigan head coach Lloyd Carr. And if you peep his high school numbers? Straight-up bananas. Over 8,000 yards in the air, 78 touchdowns—yeah, he was out there cooking defenses at Saline High School.
Now, this ain’t just about who’s got the better arm or the smoother mechanics—it’s about trust. Angeli has been Freeman’s guy for years. And when Riley Leonard went down against Penn State last season, Angeli didn’t flinch.
In his first big test under the lights, he led a clutch two-minute drill, kept the offense cool under pressure, and showed guts beyond his years. Statistically, he’s no slouch either—72.5% completion rate, 772 yards, and 10 touchdowns. And let’s not forget how he torched Oregon State in the 2023 Sun Bowl, racking up 232 yards and three scores.
Who will lead the Irish in the 2025 season?
With three QBs—Angeli, Carr, and Kenny Minchey—all gunning for the top spot, the Irish coaching staff is keeping its cards close to the chest. And according to Tyler Horka, this battle ain’t ending anytime soon. “All the writing is on the wall for Marcus Freeman not to name a starting quarterback after 15 spring practices…If somehow he knows who his starter is on April 12, right after the Blue-Gold game, to me, it’s got to be Steve Angeli at that point,” Horka said on Blue & Gold. The reason? “He’s the only guy that he’s spent three-plus years with.”
Dec 20, 2024; Notre Dame, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman leads the team onto the field before a first round playoff game against the Indiana Hoosiers at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images
The logic is simple—Freeman ain’t going to rush this decision. Could he name CJ Carr as the starter? The chances are slim. But does it make sense to hand the reins to a sophomore who’s never thrown a pass in a college game over a senior with game-time experience? That’s the million-dollar question. And Horka isn’t buying it: “There’s just no way that I can see Marcus Freeman, man, like, ‘Yep, CJ Carr, he’s the guy. Sophomore has never thrown a pass in a college football game. He’s the guy.’” He’s got a point.
And let’s not forget about Kenny Minchey—the wild card in all of this. As Horka put it, “Oh yeah, Kenny Minchey, dynamic, best athlete among this bunch. And he’s going to do some things that the other guys can’t. He’s our guy. He’s thrown one pass in a college football game.” With such little experience, it’s hard to see Freeman betting on Minchey just yet.
So, where does that leave us? According to Horka, “This thing 100% goes into fall camp.” In other words, Notre Dame’s QB situation ain’t getting settled overnight.
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