Notre Dame QB Steve Angeli to start Sun Bowl after Sam Hartman opts out
When Steve Angeli attempts a his first pass in the Tony The Tiger Sun Bowl on Dec. 29, it’ll be the first time he’s ever thrown the ball in the first half of a Notre Dame football game. History in the context of the sophomore’s college football career will be made that afternoon in El Paso, Texas.
Notre Dame announced the news via a “Peanut Butter Jelly Time” video on social media. “Peanut Butter Angeli” is a popular play on Angeli’s name.
Angeli is getting the first start of his college career for the No. 16 Fighting Irish (9-3) against the No. 19 Oregon State Beavers (8-4). Sam Hartman, Notre Dame’s one-year graduate transfer rental QB from Wake Forest, opted out of the bowl game Monday after starting all 12 regular season games for the Irish.
Hartman’s prowess in a number of Notre Dame blowout victories over weaker teams allowed Angeli to get meaningful second-half reps in. He completed 19-of-25 passes for 272 yards with 4 touchdown tosses and 1 interception this season after not attempting a single pass as a true freshman in 2022 despite serving as Notre Dame’s backup for 11 games.
In many ways, the Sun Bowl still won’t be a true test of what Angeli is capable of at this level. Both teams will have a completely new look from what they displayed in the regular season because of transfer portal defections and opt outs. Four of Notre Dame’s wide receivers, for instance, have exited via the transfer portal since the Irish’s regular season finale against Stanford in late November.
Still, Angeli finally gets a full 60 minutes with which to work. He won’t be instructed to bleed the clock, hand the ball off or throw short check-downs from the moment he steps onto the field. Those were all too familiar directives for him during mop-up duty appearances. This game is all his. His responses to natural ebbs and flows of an entire contest will be closely monitored.
The Notre Dame coaching staff, from head coach Marcus Freeman to offensive coordinator Gerad Parker, has expressed support for Angeli’s play throughout the season. The Irish are still looking to land a quarterback from the transfer portal, likely Duke’s Riley Leonard, but they like what they have in their homegrown rising junior, too.
“Steve is a guy we have a lot of confidence in,” Freeman said in November.
Angeli arrived at Notre Dame as a three-star recruit and the No. 33 quarterback in the country according to the On3 Industry Ranking. He’ll be the quarterback with the best chance of competing with whoever the Irish bring in from the portal for the starting spot in 2024. A solid showing in the Sun Bowl could catapult him into a strong offseason of giving Leonard or whoever else a run for his money.
