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Newsstand: Marcus Freeman previews Notre Dame football's starting QB competition

Kyle Kellyby: Kyle Kelly06/02/25ByKyleKelly
Marcus Freeman
USA Today Sports

Last week, Notre Dame football coach Marcus Freeman embarked on a mini-spring media tour, meeting with local reporters and appearing on the Always College Football podcast with ESPN analyst Greg McElroy. Several storylines emerged from those interviews, but none carry higher stakes than the competition for the starting quarterback role.

On Thursday’s episode with McElroy, Freeman evaluated the battle between sophomore CJ Carr and junior Kenny Minchey. Both quarterbacks have an equal opportunity to take the reins heading into the 2025 season.

“We have two guys that were really battling with Steve (Angeli) in the spring with CJ Carr, Kenny Minchey,” Freeman said. “Both did some really good things. As you evaluate the quarterback position, they have an extremely high ceiling. They both do things really, really well, and they do ’em differently.

“Our job is to say, who’s going to give the best chance to win as we get ready to face an opponent? And those questions will be answered by the quarterbacks during fall camp. And I love it because I love a competition, right? Now, you can add a little bit of pressure through competition to see who can perform under those high-pressure situations.

“So, I think they’re both capable of being the starting quarterback at Notre Dame or they wouldn’t be in this quarterback battle, but I’m looking forward to an extremely challenging and high-pressure fall camp.”

The Irish will open up the season on Aug. 31 at Miami. It will be the fifth consecutive season Notre Dame has a new starting quarterback in Week 1.

Notre Dame Posts of the Weekend

Irish 2025 class four-star tight end signee James Flanigan advanced to the Wisconsin state championship in the shot put and discus. So did his brother, Irish 2027 class three-star defensive lineman Richie Flanigan. They attend Green Bay (Wis.) Notre Dame de la Baie Academy. 

Milton (Ga.) High three-star Derrick Baker, the No. 378 overall player and No. 26 quarterback in the 2027 recruiting class, has plans to participate in Notre Dame’s Irish Invasion on Friday. 

Irish three-star wide receiver commit Dylan Faison from Boca Raton (Fla.) Saint Andrew’s School is preparing for his senior season. 

Notre Dame Quote of the Weekend 

“Pain. Devastation. Disappointment. Underachieved. Those are the things I think about. I wish we could go back and do it one more time.”

— Freeman reflecting on the outcome of Notre Dame’s 2024 season. 

Notre Dame Headlines of the Weekend

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