Marcus Freeman outlines criteria to determine Notre Dame starting quarterback

The 2024 Notre Dame Fighting Irish were led by transfer quarterback Riley Leonard, who passed for 2,861 yards, 21 touchdowns and eight interceptions en route to an appearance in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game. Leonard however exhausted his eligibility was selected by the Indianapolis Colts in the sixth round of the 2025 NFL Draft, leaving a vacancy at the Notre Dame quarterback position.

This vacancy will be filled this season by either redshirt freshman quarterback CJ Carr, redshirt sophomore quarterback Kenny Minchey, freshman quarterback Blake Hebert or grad transfer quarterback Tyler Buchner. Early reports out of South Bend have tabbed Carr as the guy, but head coach Marcus Freeman has yet to officially name the starter.

Freeman discussed what he is looking for in a starting quarterback during a media opportunity on Thursday. Whoever wins the job this season will be the fourth starting quarterback of the Marcus Freeman era, joining Drew Pyne, Sam Hartman and Riley Leonard.

Freeman is big on consistency with his quarterbacks

“Again, it’s gonna be consistency,” Freeman said. “You know, I’ve always said that they will determine who’s your starting quarterback. We want to see guys that are consistent. We want our quarterbacks, all of them to be consistent. But who can be the most consistent? Who can take care of the football and who can continue to keep our offense moving forward? Again, that play happening consistently.”

“So, I’ve always said that they will determine the starting quarterback. But today was day one. We’ll grade it every day and we’ll put them in similar challenging situations and rotate between groups. At some point, when a starter has to be named, we’ll name one.”

Carr was a four-star prospect out of Saline (Saline, MI), ranked as the No. 68 overall player in the Class of 2024. Carr and Blake Hebert have yet to attempt a collegiate pass, while Kenny Minchey and Tyler Buchner boast limited experience. Minchey has attempted three passes for 16 yards in two seasons, while Buchner has completed 76 of 138 passes for 1,033 yards, six touchdowns and eight interceptions in four seasons (three at Notre Dame and one at Alabama).

Whoever earns the starting role will be slotted into a big-time situation immediately, as the Irish open their 2025 season on the road at Miami on Aug. 30. Kick-off is scheduled for 7:30 PM on ABC. Notre Dame is 2-1 in season openers under Marcus Freeman (loss to No. 2 Ohio State in 2022, wins over Navy in 2023 and No. 20 Texas A&M in 2024).