Marcus Freeman’s Notre Dame continues to stretch the suspense on who’s going to be the QB1 next, replacing Riley Leonard on the big board. We know who is already one step ahead in the race. Steve Angeli, the guy who showcased tremendous brilliance for the Fighting Irish against Penn State in the semis of the playoffs, maybe the one. The junior quarterback may have just thrown for 44 yards in that game, but he led the Irish to a field goal drive. In the end, they won by the margin of a field goal. However, the question is, how long will Angelli have to wait to be the guy he was always meant to be? The answer heavily hinges on a recent locker room mess-up.
Marcus Freeman’s team is almost at the finish line of their spring football. With three solid contenders in the room (Steve Angeli, Kenny Minchey, and CJ Carr), the head coach will have to read a lot of things during the rest of the practices to name the winner. Each player has their areas of strength and concern. Angelli did the best while avoiding pressure and scrambling around. As per the last spring observation, Minchey stood out in getting the ball out in time. But nobody seemed to inch closer to wrapping up the race anytime soon.
A sudden injury galore is seemingly getting in the way of their quick fate. Explaining the most common yet most horrific conundrum at hand, insider Tyler Wojciak asked Jamie U, “Notre Dame’s offensive line was already dealing with injuries. We’ve learned that tackle Guerby Lambert suffered a torn labrum, and he’s not going to be back until the fall. So, these quarterbacks are working with like the twos and threes. Even if they’re going out there with the ones, like Notre Dame’s offensive line is just so depleted at this point. How much does the state of the offensive line affect the decision about who will be the starting quarterback?”
OT Lambert has undergone shoulder surgery, so the healing time would be obvious. On the other hand, Jeremiyah Love, who has been an unfathomable weapon in the offense, is also out with a hamstring injury. The list doesn’t end here. Players like Gi’Bran Payne, Taebron Bennie Powell, and Quentin Autry are all dealing with their respective injuries this offseason. Cole Mullins, the thumping edge rusher, is taking his time to recover from last season’s knee injury. He might be limitedly available during late practices.
All these circumstances led to a single outshot, that’s a cumulative delay in the QB question. Marcus Freeman was already very slow in evaluating his signal callers and reaching a decision. Now, with the injury attack, he might become slower in the verdict. “I mean, it definitely has an impact. I think from that perspective, too. It ultimately delays when they were. Just to say, I don’t think they were going to make a decision by the end of spring. But it makes it impossible,” Jamie dished a much-needed reality check.
But there’s more to your shock. Steve Angeli might not have the ball in his court by the time Marcus Freeman chooses to spill the result out, finally.
Is Steve Angeli losing his card in the intense QB race at South Bend?
Marcus Freeman has yet to find the right guy to hand over the key to his offense. He is still minutely judging the potential. One wrong move can wreak havoc on your chance if you stand on the other side of the fence. Last week’s practice was not Steve Angeli’s best finish at all. He was palpably limiting down the field. His ball placement looked dinged up in a rare course of events.
Although he handled the pressure well, he scored the most drops. He had Cam Williams wide open for what could have been a long touchdown pass on an RPO. But since the ball was behind, there has been room for doubt. He also missed an end zone throw to KK Smith, where he placed the ball about 6-7 yards out of bounds.
On the other hand, Minchey is gaining momentum. He looked under control last week in the scrimmage. “I think if you were going to say that the best guy on the day was easily Kenny Minchey. I think, by far, he came out with the ones to start it. That’s obviously an advantage when you know when you’re working with the first group. But I think he made the most of it. He handled the pressure the best, and he was the most accurate over the course of the day. He did throw one pick; it was tipped by Cole Mullins,” analyst Jamie tracked down the progress that the savvy pocket passer has made.
However, ultimately, it will be at Marcus Freeman’s discretion who will have the torch going forward. The best we can do is to connect the dots.
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