Marcus Freeman reveals Notre Dame QB plans after Riley Leonard graduation

Notre Dame has been content to roll with veteran stop-gap quarterbacks out of the transfer portal the last two seasons. But head coach Marcus Freeman said that the Irish will take a new tack at the position this offseason.

With Riley Leonard set to graduate and presumably go to the NFL Draft, Notre Dame will need a new starting quarterback. But speaking with media on Wednesday, Freeman indicated that quarterback is likely already on the roster.

“I said that, I think, during the season. We have no plans of going in the transfer portal for a quarterback,” Freeman said during his National Signing Day presser.

That means it will likely be a competition between current backup Steve Angeli and the presumed favorite to win the job, freshman CJ Carr. Notre Dame also has two other quarterbacks on the roster slated to return in 2025, both underclassmen: Kenny Minchey and Anthony Rezac.

The Irish also have one quarterback who signed on National Signing Day on Wednesday, four-star prospect Blake Herbert out of Vancouver, British Columbia. He’s the No. 378 overall prospect in the On3 Industry Rankings.

And Freeman also spoke to how strongly he feels about the talent and depth in the current Irish quarterback room, and the group carrying into 2025.

“I feel really strong about the guys we have in our quarterback room right now with Steve and Kenny and CJ. All possess different talent. All do things well. All have areas of improvement like we all do but I feel really strong about the quarterback room as a whole,” Freeman said.

But while Freeman was looking ahead to 2025 as he spoke about the Irish’s signing class, he’s still very much got work to do with this Notre Dame team that is a virtual lock for an at-large College Football Playoff bid this year.

So for the time being, the floor is still Leonard’s. But soon enough here, Notre Dame will hand the reins to a homegrown quarterback.