Notre Dame QB battle: College GameDay considers best option to maximize offense

A three-horse race turned into two for Notre Dame‘s quarterback competition. Steve Angeli left the program after spring practice, leaving head coach Marcus Freeman with CJ Carr and Kenny Minchey. A tough decision ahead of the season opener against Miami.

For ESPN’s Rece Davis, he thinks Carr will be the one who ultimately wins the job. He emphasized this was not any kind of breaking news, just his perception from the outside.

“I think most believe it will be Carr, ultimately,” Davis said. “That’s not Pete Thamel news breaking it, not like they whispered ‘Hey, it’s gonna be.’ It’s not like that at all. I’m just saying the outside perception for those of us who watch think it will probably be Carr.”

Thamel was asked if he shared the same opinion, hesitatingly saying, “Probably.” However, he has heard positive things about Minchey dating back to spring ball.

“A few people up there told me in recent weeks that Minchey was better throughout the spring,” Thamel said. “Everyone saw Carr crush the spring game and I think that’s where sentiment and perception came from. But Minchey is an impressive guy and he hits better with what Mike Denbrock has done… Carr is an alpha but he’s pure pro (style).”

Minchey is more of a threat to use his feet, something Denbrock has used throughout the year. Whether it’s with Riley Leonard last season or during his time at LSU with Jayden Daniels. Notre Dame would be changing their offense a bit if Carr came in as the full-time guy.

So, could we see a world where Notre Dame puts in a package for Minchey if he is not the starter? A common question when quarterback competitions are close, Davis is not going to fully rule it out.

“I actually asked Marcus that,” Davis said. “His response was exactly what you would expect. While offering the caveat, ‘Everyone is still competing here. We’ll see what happens.’ But his response was ‘I will do whatever it takes to help this team win football games.’ It means nothing’s off the table philosophically.”

No matter who wins, there will be no soft intro to the season. Notre Dame plays 10 power conference opponents and even the two “easier” games aren’t easy. Boise State comes to town on Oct. 4 and then there is the annual rivalry against Navy. Freeman will have a tough decision to make and needs to get it right from the get-go.