Notre Dame's surprise QB race tightens, then tips to Carr
Two weeks out from kickoff, some of last season's playoff teams are still answering the most important question on the roster. Alabama and Stanford locked in their starters this week. Notre Dame did too, but not without drama. What looked like a formality for months turned into a real coin flip.
When Steve Angeli hit the portal in mid-April, the path seemed clear for five-star freshman CJ Carr. The staff didn’t chase a transfer, which felt like a public vote of confidence. But fall camp didn’t follow the script. Redshirt sophomore Kenny Minchey, a 2023 four-star who had barely seen the field, forced a near dead heat. More than one voice around the program described the race as “50-50.” At times, Minchey even looked like he had the edge.
Minchey brought more than a big arm. He stacked consistent days, extended plays, and kept mistakes low. That steadiness matters in August when coaches are tracking every rep on film. It also made the staff pause. Carr’s tools are obvious, but so is the risk of rolling with a young quarterback who can get aggressive with the ball.
Carr’s case leaned on traits you can’t teach: calm footwork, clean operation, and a high football IQ. He processed quickly and handled pressure well, the kind of stuff that keeps a playbook wide open. That’s part of why Notre Dame skipped the transfer market. They wanted to grow with him, not rent a short-term fix. Still, the turnovers that pop up when he presses were a real part of the evaluation.
Minchey, meanwhile, offered a different path. He can drive the ball to the far hash and make throws outside structure. When protection wobbled in camp, he didn’t. Those are winning traits against top defenses that hide looks and squeeze windows. In a lot of programs, that kind of skill set wins the day in a tight August call.
Marcus Freeman didn’t rush it. The staff used the final scrimmage as the tiebreaker. Moments later, the choice went public: Carr would start. Offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock signed off, and even some in the building were surprised given how fiercely Minchey had closed the gap. That timeline says plenty about how truly contested this was.
Now the job gets real. Notre Dame opens at Miami, then hosts Texas A&M, travels to Arkansas, and welcomes Boise State in early October. That’s a lot of noise for a first-time starter. It also puts Carr on a national stage right away, with little margin for on-the-job learning. There’s a family twist too: he’s the grandson of longtime Michigan coach Lloyd Carr. The name carries weight. So will every throw.
How does the scheme fit? Denbrock’s system asks the quarterback to process quickly and attack every level of the field. Carr checks those mental boxes. Minchey offers more vertical juice and off-script creation. That mix gives the staff options. Don’t be shocked if they carve out situational roles early in the season, even with a clear starter, to stress defenses and keep a hot hand ready.
Turnovers will define September. On the road, aggressive shots can flip a game, but so can a tipped ball or a late throw to the seam. Expect Notre Dame to support Carr with early-down runs, quick-game throws, and motion to reveal coverages. Look for RPOs that keep him in rhythm and simplify post-snap decisions. You win August with traits; you win September by protecting the ball.
There’s a practical benefit to deciding now. With roughly two weeks left, the QB1 gets nearly all the work with the first-team receivers, the starting center, and the full protection plan. That chemistry doesn’t build overnight. Blitz checks, sight adjustments, and cadence timing all settle when one voice is in charge.
And Minchey? His role still matters. The backup quarterback is one snap away, and his steady camp should give the staff confidence if they need him. He’s already managed game weeks at Notre Dame, appearing in four contests and attempting three passes across two years. That’s not much, but it’s enough to know the pace. In a long season, the No. 2 can decide a conference race.
Across the country: upside vs. experience defines late QB calls
Notre Dame isn’t the only big-name program that dragged its decision into mid-August. Ohio State, Michigan, Colorado, and Tennessee are still working through their boards, each weighing the same trade-off: bankable experience or higher ceiling.
Ohio State’s calculus feels familiar. The roster is loaded, the goals are public, and the early schedule won’t wait. Stretch the competition too long and you lose time customizing the offense around your starter. Choose too early and you might miss the guy who handles pressure better when the live bullets fly. For the Buckeyes, the answer shapes everything from tempo to how often they ask the quarterback to move the pocket.
Michigan is entertaining the idea of a true freshman winning the job. That’s not as wild as it sounds. If the rookie protects the ball and sets the protections, a strong run game and a stingy defense can carry the rest in September. The trade-off? The playbook usually shrinks early. You lean on play-action, defined reads, and rhythm throws until the game slows down for him.
Colorado is in a different place but facing the same core question. With turnover on the depth chart and new faces across the two-deep, the staff might simply ride the quarterback who wins the locker room, not just the stat sheet. If that’s a freshman, the path is clear: simplify, speed up his answers, and let your playmakers earn yards after the catch. The risk, as always, is ball security and protection in obvious passing downs.
Tennessee’s race has names and layers. Gaston Moore and Jake Merklinger are in the thick of it, while four-star freshman George MacIntyre is being evaluated but doesn’t look like a real factor right now. Josh Heupel’s offense is built on pace and vertical stress, but the tenant that decides this contest is simple: consistency. If the starter hits the layups and avoids negative plays, the downfield shots will be there by design. The Volunteers are coming off a College Football Playoff run; the bar sits high.
Why do these competitions stretch this late? Coaches want full-contact tape from scrimmages, not just 7-on-7 heroics. They want to see who fixes a protection mistake mid-drive, who commands the huddle after a sack, and who finds the checkdown with 90,000 people screaming. Live reps expose habits that practice can hide.
There’s also roster management in the NIL and transfer era. Quarterbacks want clarity. Staffs want buy-in. Announce too soon and you risk losing a capable No. 2’s focus. Announce too late and you shortchange the starter’s chemistry with the ones. With the transfer window timing what it is, options are limited now, but the human element never goes away. Position coaches spend as much time managing expectations as they do tweaking footwork.
Week 1 usually answers the debate fast. Starters don’t need to post gaudy numbers; they need to be clean in the red zone, calm on third-and-medium, and decisive when the first read disappears. If you’re tracking these races, watch for a few simple tells:
- Early script: Are the first 10–15 plays heavy on quick throws and RPOs, or do they trust the QB to push the ball downfield?
- Time-to-throw: Quick decisions hint at a staff that believes the QB is seeing it well. Hesitation means coverage or comfort issues.
- Checkdowns: Does the ball find the back or tight end when the shot isn’t there? That’s maturity, not conservatism.
- Pocket management: Can he slide, reset, and throw on time without bailing from clean pockets?
- Red zone: Fewer windows, faster reactions. Turnovers here are the loudest mistakes a young QB can make.
A quick note on early decisions: picking a starter now isn’t a lifetime appointment. Coaches will change course if the tape says so. Clemson did it in 2018, handing the offense to a freshman after September and riding him to a title. Stability matters, but so does honesty with the film.
Back to South Bend. The staff chose Carr because he earned it when it counted most. The schedule will push him right away. Minchey’s strong camp means there’s a viable Plan B if the offense needs a spark or if health forces it. That’s a good problem to have. It’s also the clearest sign Notre Dame’s quarterback room is deeper than it looked in April. The first month will tell us how fast that depth turns into wins.
As Week 1 closes in, the theme is the same from South Bend to Columbus to Knoxville: upside is tempting, but reliability wins Saturdays. The programs that thread that needle now will look smartest when the lights come on.
The biggest domino has already fallen in South Bend. One job is settled, and another story is just starting — how the Notre Dame quarterback handles the heat of September and how the Irish build around him before conference play tightens the screws.
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