Quarterback Riley Leonard excelled in his lone year at Notre Dame in 2024, passing for 2,861 yards, 21 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He also rushed for 906 yards and 17 touchdowns. His stellar play led the Fighting Irish to the National Championship game for the first time since 2013, where they fell to Ohio State 34-23. Leonard however departed after his […]
Quarterback Riley Leonard excelled in his lone year at Notre Dame in 2024, passing for 2,861 yards, 21 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He also rushed for 906 yards and 17 touchdowns. His stellar play led the Fighting Irish to the National Championship game for the first time since 2013, where they fell to Ohio State 34-23.
Leonard however departed after his fourth year of college football and was selected in the 2025 NFL Draft by the Indianapolis Colts, leaving an open vacancy at the position this season for Marcus Freeman‘s team.
His departure left redshirt freshman CJ Carr and redshirt sophomore Kenny Minchey as the two competitors for the starting spot this season. Carr has yet to take a collegiate snap, while Minchey has attempted just three career passes. ESPN’s Pete Thamel gave an update on the quarterback battle during Thursday’s edition of “The Pat McAfee Show.”
“As for Notre Dame, my understanding is that race is fairly even,” Thamel said. “It’s an interesting one to see when and if they declare it because the skill sets of CJ Carr and Kenny Minchey are very different. Minchey does really fit more of what (Offensive Coordinator) Mike Denbrock has done with running quarterbacks.”
“We saw what they did with Riley Leonard last year and obviously what he did with Jayden Daniels a couple of seasons ago at LSU. You can even go back to Cincinnati, where he was the OC when Desmond Ridder rose to prominence. He was used to having more of a duel-threat guy. CJ Carr is more of a traditional drop-back, so a decision from Notre Dame kinda comes as a philosophical decision. If it is Carr, could we see Minchey in a package that utilizes his legs? I think that’s race is very close and it wouldn’t surprise me if it goes either way.”
Marcus Freeman commented on battle earlier this offseason
Whoever wins the job will be the fourth starting quarterback of the Marcus Freeman era, joining Drew Pyne, Sam Hartman and Leonard. He commented on the quarterback battle and how he’ll decide who the starter is earlier this offseason.
“I learned early in my career, don’t put a timetable on it,” Freeman said via Golic & Golic back in July. “When we’re confident that the starter is clearly defined, then we’ll name that starter. It could be after the summer. It could be after the first practice, it could be — again, I don’t love the thought of going into the first game without naming a starter, but if we have to wait, we will. I don’t think we will.”
“But, you know, I think, how do we put them in situations where they’re competitive situations where they have to execute? And at the end of the day, who’s executed? Who’s putting our offense in a position to have success?”
The Fighting Irish open their 2025 season at Miami on Aug. 31. Kick-off is scheduled for 7:30 PM on ABC.
Category: General Sports
