More than Physical Gifts have Kenny Minchey in Contention for QB1 at Notre Dame

Notre Dame quarterback Kenny Minchey is no stranger to competition. He competed at an Elite 11 regional camp and stood out to earn himself a trip to the Elite 11 Finals in the summer of 2022. There he was able to compete against 19 of the best high school quarterbacks in the country.

Minchey entered that camp ranked as a 3-star prospect and was the least heralded recruit competing. He beat out a number of higher ranked players to be named one of the Elite 11.

He was an underdog heading into that competition and in many ways he’s viewed as the underdog of the current three-man quarterback competition.

Steve Angeli was the backup to Riley Leonard last season. He has the most experience and showed he could step up in a big moment when he led a field goal drive in the Orange Bowl at the end of the first half. CJ Carr is seen by many Notre Dame fans as the favorite to win the job. He’s been hyped as the quarterback of the future from the moment he committed to the Irish before the start of his junior year in high school.

Minchey is the one who was in the recruiting class in-between those two. He was recruited by Tommy Rees, but never coached by him. Minchey is in his third spring at Notre Dame and it’s also the third spring for quarterback coach Gino Guidugli.

Minchey didn’t get a ton of reps in that first spring as an early enrollee. That was expected as Sam Hartman and Tyler Buchner were busy competing for the starting job. But the quarterback room changed after that spring, which ended up being a very good thing for Minchey and his development.

”I think when Tyler Buchner transferred two years ago and we made the decision not to go to the portal that year to replace him and decided to invest those reps into Steve, into Kenny, Kenny really benefited from that scenario and had a whole summer and a whole fall to get a bunch of reps that freshmen don’t normally get,” Guidugli stated.

“I feel like Kenny’s kind of — even though he doesn’t have that game experience, he’s kind of ahead of the curve, because that true freshman season, he got a bunch of reps that true freshmen really don’t ever receive.”

Minchey also benefited from having a consistent voice in Guidugli coaching the position despite there being a change as offensive coordinator after Minchey’s first year.

”It’s great having the same quarterback coach,” Minchey said about Guidugli. “We spend all our time with him. (Mike) Denbrock is our OC, but we spend more time with Gino because Denbrock is with the tight ends.

“With three springs in a row, he knows where I started and where I’ve come to. He knows small mistakes that maybe I was making my first spring and if I make that mistake out here, he’s easy to correct that. We’re not trying to go back to old habits. Also building that connection over the past two years, if he’s getting on me about something, I know it’s coming from a good place.”

Guidugli has seen considerable growth in Minchey’s game since he first came to Notre Dame. He’s the most talented athlete of three competing and Guidugli praised Minchey’s accuracy as a passer. Those were things that were strengths for Minchey before he arrived at Notre Dame, though. The mental side of playing the position has now caught up to the other parts of his game.

”Oh, mentally, Kenny’s on it now,” Guidugli said. “We do a script review every practice in our meeting before we walk out. Kenny’s the guy who’s gonna come in and when the coach is making a mistake on the script, he’s gonna be the first one to say, ‘Hey, on Play 12, is that supposed to be —’ ‘No, Kenny, you’re right. That was supposed to be this.’”

There’s always a learning curve and it’s typically steep for any quarterback in their first year of college football. Minchey was no exception. He’s had to develop on the field while not playing the last two years and that isn’t an easy thing to do.

The reason he has made the progress that he has can largely be attributed to his day-to-day mindset.

”I feel like even last year with a transfer coming in, I was trying to prepare like I was playing in August and September all the way through the rest of the season,” Minchey admitted. “Each and every day, I feel I’m coming with the same mindset to get better each day and work on the things I can work on. I’d say the same thing is on the line, but from the outside perspective, there’s probably a little more at stake.”

That approach combined with his skill set is why he has a chance to be Notre Dame’s QB1 this season. His arm talent and his athleticism are two reasons why he’s a good fit for Mike Denbrock’s offense.

”You hear him at practice and in the film room. You know he wants us to take shots,” Minchey stated when asked about Denbrock. “He wants us to push the ball down the field because you have to do that to be successful in college football.

“With some plays we have - allowing us as quarterbacks to move around and read some of the defensive linemen, get around on the edge and I feel that suits me pretty well. Seeing him come from LSU with Jayden Daniels and seeing what the pinnacle is for what his offense can bring.”

That’s the kind of offense wants to have at Notre Dame and Daniels’ ability to run was a huge part of that. Out of the three quarterbacks competing for the starting job this spring, Minchey is the one who most closely resembles Leonard and Daniels as runners.

That might be the thing that gives Minchey an edge over the two, but as Guidugli said, how the quarterbacks perform with their decision-making when they are in “team” (11 on 11) is going to be the best indication of who the quarterback should be.

Minchey has grown a lot since he arrived at Notre Dame. How much he’s grown with his knowledge of the offense and in making the right decisions will be what determines whether or not he is the starting quarterback for the Irish this fall.

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