Will a Star Emerge in Notre Dame’s 2025 Quarterback Competition?

Notre Dame's 2025 fall camp opens this week, and the feel around it will be different for multiple reasons. Sure, the Fighting Irish are coming off a national championship game appearance and expectations haven't been higher in years, but something else will be new for Marcus Freeman and Notre Dame.

A quarterback competition.

While veteran quarterbacks came in for one-and-done deals with Notre Dame in three of the last four years, this year sees a competition between two true candidates who have a combined 21 collegiate snaps to their names.

Let's take a look at Notre Dame's quarterback room as fall camp is set to begin. Remember, the below is my projected spot on the depth chart, not by any means anything official from Marcus Freeman or Notre Dame.

QB4: #16, Anthony Rezac: 6-3, 202 pounds, Sophomore (RS-Freshman)

Go Irish☘️ pic.twitter.com/iSgwhrpvcz
— Anthony Rezac (@rezac_anthony) November 28, 2023

Entering his second year at Notre Dame, Rezac didn't see any playing time last season and doesn't appear to be heading towards any in 2025. Rezac chose to attend Notre Dame over several Ivy League schools as well as service academies. Rezac was MaxPreps' 2023 Player of the Year in Nebraska.

QB3: #12, Blake Hebert: 6-3, 225 pounds, Freshman

HERE COME THE IRISH!☘️ #THINKBIG #committed pic.twitter.com/5opM3wSbt9
— Blake Hebert (@BlakeHeberttt) October 14, 2024

The true freshman wound up flipping his commitment from Clemson to Notre Dame following Deuce Knight's departure from Notre Dame's recruiting class last fall. Although the expectation for the Boxford, Massachusetts product isn't to see the field in 2025, he's going to have to be pushed along perhaps quicker than quarterback coach Gino Guidugli would like, as he's one play from being the backup, and a bad afternoon away from being Notre Dame's starter. That's a spot CJ Carr wasn't forced to have to enter last fall.

QB2: #8, Kenny Minchey, 6-2, 204 pounds, Junior (Sophomore)

Love getting back to work with Notre Dame QB @kenny_minchey ‼️

Kid can really spin it. Bright future 🚀 pic.twitter.com/EJnZlFaFOn
— QB Country Nashville (@QBC_Nashville) May 29, 2024

Minchey certainly doesn't enter fall camp with the pressure of being the favorite, and perhaps that's a good thing for him. Minchey is more of an athlete than Carr, but oftentimes, I think that saying comes off as disrespectful to a quarterback. It makes you think a guy can run, but not throw. Don't get it confused, Kenny Minchey can certainly spin it, as you can see for yourself above.

Can Minchey show the consistency needed to be handed the keys to the Notre Dame offense? If so, a more diverse-looking offense may be in the cards for offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock to call in 2025.

QB1: #13, CJ Carr, 6-3, 210 pounds, Sophomore (RS-Freshman)

QB CJ Carr was excellent in the Blue-Gold Game.

14-19, 170 yds, 2 TD, INT.

It's a glorified practice, but the soon-to-be sophomore looked the part. pic.twitter.com/KiBju8p7WF
— Bennett Wise WSBT (@BennettWiseWSBT) April 12, 2025

The favorite to win the quarterback job is certainly second-year player CJ Carr. Carr played four snaps last season against Purdue and dealt with an injury for much of the fall, but left spring practice seemingly in the lead.

Carr has the background, being the grandson of former Michigan head coach Lloyd Carr, but the young man can certainly play. He was a top 50 overall recruit in the 2024 recruiting class who can push the ball downfield in a way Notre Dame hasn't been able to do with consistency for quite some time.

Could 2025 be the first of two or three seasons Carr leads the Notre Dame offense?

Nick Shepkowski's Quick Takeaway:

My hope in this is that someone emerges quickly to create separation. That's not to say I hope one fails, but it's that I want one to essentially show he's the guy early on and for teammates and coaches to pick up on that. That's the best way to prevent any sort of divide that can come with a quarterback competition or controversy.

The safe money appears to be on Carr, but by no means is it a done deal. The quarterback competition will be the biggest storyline of fall camp, and because of the importance of the position, it will set the tone for the start of Notre Dame's season.