Marcus Freeman's Culture of Competition Fuels Notre Dame's Quarterback Battle

Marcus Freeman preaches competition.

Perhaps there is no better example of daily competition paying off than Notre Dame’s College Football Playoff run last season. The Fighting Irish suffered multiple injuries, but didn’t miss a beat due to the depth the program had built over the Freeman’s first three seasons.

The Notre Dame quarterback competition will likely be front and center for the next few months as Steve Angeli, Kenny Minchey and CJ Carr compete for the starting nod.

Competition to be the signal-caller is always an interesting study. Notre Dame has seen tension between Everett Golson and Malik Zaire, DeShone Kizer and Zaire, while other competitions have been heated but more friendly in recent years.

This year’s competition might be the most competitive, but it’s evident that all three are going to remain friends throughout the competition due to the relationships they’ve formed over time.

“You see it at Notre Dame as a whole,” stated Micnhey. “Everyone in the locker room is close-knit. Notre Dame only recruits the kind of guys who can come here. I feel like with the coaches bringing in the right guys, it’s easy to click with them. We’re all friends with each other. We’re boys growing up together.”

All three quarterbacks believe they should be the starter and the expectation is to compete hard, which is the key to maintaining a healthy competition. Quarterbacks coach Gino Guidugli has set a strong tone for how he wants the next few weeks or months to go and his room has embraced the mindset.

“It’s me versus me every day,” explained Carr. “It’s Kenny versus Kenny. It’s Steve versus Steve. If you don’t think that way, then you’ll get into a snowball of comparisons instead of focusing on what you need to accomplish.”

Notre Dame brought in a transfer quarterback the last two years, but the program made a strong statement in the room this offseason by rolling into the three-man competition.

There are differing opinions within the room on whether it was a vote of confidence in the room, which is expected as all three have had different experiences seeing a transfer enter the program.

For Angeli, the program’s decision didn’t impact him as he has focused on the big picture.

“It doesn’t matter if they brought one in or not,” Angeli stated. “I’m going to focus on my reps and control what I can control. The coaching staff is going to do what they think is best for the team and that’s what I’m going to do as well.”

Minchey believes the decision showed the staff had faith in the room and the Tennessee native is ready to embrace the opportunity.

“With not bringing a transfer in and in the offseason, Gino told us it would be an open competition,” said Minchey. “It feels like more possibility for everyone.”

Angeli has seen and been part of a quarterback competition at Notre Dame. The New Jersey native has learned from watching Tyler Buchner and Drew Pyne battle it out, but also from watching Sam Hartman and Riley Leonard enter the program.

“If you’re the starting quarterback in high school, college, or the NFL, someone is always chasing you and you’re always chasing somebody,” Angeli said. “It’s constant competition. But in my mind, the competition is not with the other guys. It’s with you and you. That’s how I look at it every day.”