After a year in which the Notre Dame football team reached the national championship game, the Irish have a big question to answer: Who will start at quarterback?
And while Week 1 of the season in quickly approaching, Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman remains tight-lipped.
“Marcus Freeman says the Notre Dame quarterback competition is still ongoing. Still no timetable for a decision, though he says one must be made soon obviously,” Notre Dame reporter Tyler Horka posted on X, formerly Twitter.
“He says CJ Carr and Kenny Minchey have been good in camp.”
Freeman said, according to Horka, that both Carr and Michey “have elevated their level of play.”
Carr, a redshirt freshman, played one game for the Irish last season and registered no stats. Minchey, a third-year player, also played once a year ago, although he completed the only pass he attempted for four yards, and he ran the ball twice for 12 yards, including a touchdown. Minchey played three games as a freshman in 2023, completing two passes.
Regardless of who ultimately starts, they will have big shoes to fill after the departure of Riley Leonard. A senior transfer, Leonard came to South Bend from Duke, where he had played three years and started 21 games.
Once with Notre Dame, Leonard's dual-threat ability proved highly effective, and he led the Irish to an 11-1 regular-season record, followed by wins in the College Football Playoff vs. Indiana, Georgia, and Penn State. Although Leonard threw for 2 touchdowns and ran for another, Notre Dame lost to Ohio State in the national championship game, which marked the first time ND had reached the title game in more than a decade.
Leonard, who exhausted his eligibility, was selected in the sixth round of the 2025 NFL Draft by the Indianapolis Colts.
While it may be true that Carr and Minchey are still battling for the starting spot, it is also plausible that Freeman is simply keeping his proverbial cards close to his vest. Notre Dame opens its season in two weeks, on Sunday, Aug. 31, against Miami, which would very likely enjoy knowing which quarterback to prepare for.
Notre Dame will have a week off after the season opener before hosting Texas A&M.
