Notre Dame Fighting Irish were on a fairy tale run last year, which unfortunately culminated in their loss against Ohio State. Still, they have got the momentum, and with Marcus Freeman’s coaching prowess, the team sure looks to complete that unwritten chapter. Except they are without Riley Leonard, and the QBs they have are inexperienced, with CJ Carr and Kenny Minchey. But will it affect Notre Dame in any way?
The Fighting Irish had one of the most anticipated QB battles in the spring with three QBs competing for the starting job. Steve Angeli, the red-shirt junior’s case had been backed with 2 years under Mike Denbrock’s wing. Then there was Kenny Minchey, the red-shirt sophomore, who took a significant step up in the spring. Lastly, there was CJ Carr, who, although he wasn’t declared the QB1 by Marcus Freeman, was the favorite for the job. But now with Steve Angeli departing to Syracuse, the dynamics have changed.
Greg McElroy appeared on ‘The Independent’ podcast’s 25th June episode and was asked about the situation in the QB room by host Pete Sampson, since McElroy was inside the team several times watching their practices. The ESPN analyst, although, said that he didn’t watch the practices with “full pads on” but saw enough to analyze CJ Carr’s talent as he declared. “Just watching the ball come off the guy’s hand (CJ Carr), it’s like all right, he’s different, and it’s no disrespect to what Riley was from an arm talent standpoint.”
Well, we all know that Riley Leonard didn’t have an elite arm, but the guy could run like his life depended on it. The guy notched up 906 rushing yards along with 2,861 passing yards and was lethal in the red zone. For instance, of Riley’s 12 touchdown passes, 12 came in the red zone with just 2% turnovers. And so, CJ Carr, as pointed out by McElroy, is different, but that doesn’t mean he is not lethal in his own way, so much so that McElroy declared that he already was expecting CJ Carr to start behind the center.
“I kind of knew that if they were going to go and and win the natty, and they’re going to go and compete against the top teams in college football, having that high-level ceiling quarterback is always going to be the utmost benefit and I think CJ is probably that guy,” said McElroy. ESPN’s analyst verdict is no speculation; CJ Carr undoubtedly looks like the real deal.
As a 2024 4-star recruit, Carr threw for 2,754 yards with 24 TDs and led Saline to a 9-2 record. Although the QB hasn’t seen playing time with Notre Dame, his football IQ, being the grandson of Michigan coach Loyd Carr, and passing accuracy made him the top candidate for the QB1 job. But that doesn’t mean Kenny Minchey will have no role to play; in fact, Minchey’s role might be as vital as CJ Carr’s.
Two QB system with CJ Carr and Kenny Minchey for Notre Dame in 2025?
As a junior, Minchey threw for 3,280 yards and 40 TDs, but more than that was his rushing prowess, which was the highlight. He rushed for 2.6 yards per game in that season and extended plays with his legs, making him the perfect fit for those red-zone RPO schemes. This is something even McElroy batted for and even speculated that we could see two QBs on the field for Notre Dame.
“I think Kenny is a unique skill set that will absolutely have a role in this offense, knowing how much they’ve utilized quarterback run, and how imperative quarterback run became for them situationally in the red zone and on third down short. I could definitely envision a scenario where we have two quarterbacks on the field at one team,” said McElroy.
Notre Dame has used two QBs earlier too, with Tyler Buchner and Drew Pyne, and Denbrock has also used dual QBs at LSU. So, using both CJ Carr and Minchey is a massive possibility. Although we will have to wait till fall camp to know that, since Marcus Freeman is tight-lipped on his QB1 stance for now.
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