Notre Dame's Quarterback Battle: Angeli, Minchey, and Carr Set for Spring Showdown

Notre Dame will enter spring football with another quarterback competition.

Marcus Freeman has said the last two seasons have been competitions, but Sam Hartman and Riley Leonard would always get the starting nod, barring injury.

This spring, Steve Angeli, Kenny Minchey and CJ Carr will be duking it out to start in Miami on August 31st.

All three bring similar skill sets to the table, which makes the open competition even more intriguing, as Mike Denbrock gets to tinker with his offense over the next month.

Freeman admits there isn’t an ideal structure for a three-quarterback competition, but that’s the hand Notre Dame has been dealt and the Irish will proceed to plan until someone falls out.

And it will be a competition centered around transparency.

“They're all going to get reps with the ones,” Freeman stated. “I'm talking Kenny, Steve and CJ. They're going to split reps and each day could be different, but it's important for us to communicate with them beforehand and no matter if they like what group they're going with or not, which it shouldn't matter, that we're upfront and honest with them and then we give them feedback after each practice and we'll name a starter when a starter clearly shows that he's the best quarterback.”

It will be a challenge to get each quarterback reps with the first team, but it may help that Notre Dame has several starters limited this spring, which will put even more emphasis on efficient play from the Irish signal callers.

A fair competition is at the forefront of Freeman’s mind and it will be on his staff to make sure that happens in the coming weeks or months.

“It is the first true competition with three guys that I've been a part of,” Freeman stated. “But I know it's going to be a fair competition. I'm really excited for it and looking forward to seeing how everyone in that room enhances, but at some point, somebody will be named the starter.”

When it comes to Denbrock, the task at hand might seem difficult, but that’s where his experience comes in.

Notre Dame isn’t installing an entire offense right now, so Denbrock will be tasked with finding out the strengths of the offense and which quarterback can put the team in the best position for success.

“As we look at it from the big picture, we knew what Riley's strengths were and we knew what Sam Hartman's strengths were. Now we have an idea of what the collective group's strengths are in that room. How do we tailor what we do offensively to fit the quarterback? What are we going to ask that guy to do?

“You've heard me say it many times, great coaches call or ask their players to do what they do well. It is not a play that you created. It's calling what your guys do well. That's the objective of the spring. How can we tailor what we do offensively and call things that we believe our quarterback can perform well?”

Angeli has the experience on Carr and Minchey, which is priceless. Yet, Carr and Minchey have bigger arms and are a little more mobile.

Those are the knowns heading into spring ball and all three will have a chance to show growth, but also how they can enhance the offense.

“They've all got great arms,” stated Freeman. “They all can throw the ball. One's a senior that has been here who has experience. One's been here going into a second year and one's going into his third year. Is that a strength or a weakness? I don't know. That's to be determined. I think all three have the ability to extend plays with their legs. They all three make really great decisions.

“There's nothing I'm going to say right now to say, 'Hey, they're separated.' Those three are competing. And I look forward to the competition. At the end of the day, when one clearly shows that he's the best person to lead our offense, then he'll be named a starter.”

As for a timetable, Freeman and his staff aren’t in a rush as they will be separated with time.

“I don't want to put a timetable on and I refuse to do that,” said Freeman. “To me, if you don't have a decision made by then, it's going to frustrate you and there's no need to put a timetable on it.

“You let those guys compete and when a starter is determined, we're going to announce it. I'm excited. I truly love competition. I think it's going to make all three of those guys better.”