Ranking the 8 Notre Dame's Quarterbacks of the Marcus Freeman Era

Marcus Freeman is getting ready for his fifth year as Notre Dame's head coach, and has seen quarterback talent rise each year he's been in South Bend

Sep 20, 2025; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman and quarterback CJ Carr (13) sing the alma mater after beating the Purdue Boilermakers at Notre Dame Stadium. | Michael Caterina-Imagn Images

A year ago at this time we were in the summer months, trying to find out who was going to start at quarterback for Notre Dame in a race that featured CJ Carr and Kenny Minchey.

Carr ultimately won that and was mighty impressive in 2025, so much in fact that he'll enter 2026 among the favorites to win the Heisman Trophy, and that Minchey has transferred to Kentucky.

Six quarterbacks have started games for Notre Dame since Marcus Freeman was named head coach in December of 2021 and two more have played the position at different times.

In this piece, we rank all eight quarterbacks to have played the position at Notre Dame during Marcus Freeman's time as head coach.

8. Drew Pyne

Rewatching California at Notre Dame.

What led to Tommy Rees’ viral video chewing out Drew Pyne was some of the worst QB play I’ve ever seen. pic.twitter.com/K5Usdx3q3L

— Brad Powers (@BradPowers7) March 7, 2023

God bless Drew Pyne for doing what he could with what he had but the fact that Freeman and Tommy Rees were able to get Notre Dame to eight regular season victories in 2022 with him starting 10 games is a modern day miracle.

7. Kenny Minchey

Notre Dame quarterback Kenny Minchey calls the snap during the second half of a NCAA football game against Navy at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025, in South Bend. | MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Minchey never started a game at Notre Dame, but showed flashes as the main backup in 2025, completing 76.9% of his passes while averaging over seven yards per attempt. His position on this list is largely due to the bad luck of having none other than CJ Carr in front of him on the depth chart.

6. Jack Coan

Jan 1, 2022; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Jack Coan (17) throws a pass against the Oklahoma State Cowboys during the first half of the 2022 Fiesta Bowl at State Farm Stadium. | Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

Marcus Freeman's first game as Notre Dame was the 2022 Fiesta Bowl where Jack Coan threw for 509 yards. Unfortunately, Notre Dame couldn't get stops from late in the second quarter on and lost that game 37-35, despite the second-most passing yards in a single game ever by a Notre Dame quarterback.

5. Tyler Buchner

Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Tyler Buchner (12) walks away from the awards ceremony with his MVP game trophy after Friday might's victory over the South Carolina Gamecocks. The University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish took on the University of South Carolina Gamecocks in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl game in Jacksonville, Florida's TIAA Bank Field Friday, December 30, 2022. The first half ended with South Carolina holding a 24 to 17 lead but Notre Dame came back and with a late fourth quarter | Bob Self/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK

Buchner was touted to be Notre Dame's savior at quarterback, but that didn't end up happening. He started the 2022 season as the starting quarterback but struggled in losses at Ohio State and at home against Marshall before being lost for the year.

He threw just three touchdowns to five interceptions that season, but bo his credit, Buchner bounced back with an gritty performance to take home MVP honors after leading Notre Dame to a comeback win over South Carolina in the 2022 Gator Bowl.

4. Steve Angeli

Jan 9, 2025; Miami, FL, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Steve Angeli (18) throws the ball in the first half against the Penn State Nittany Lions in the Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium. | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

A career backup during his time at Notre Dame, Angeli led one of the most important drives for the Fighting Irish during the 2024 season. Trailing Penn State 10-0 late in the first half of the Orange Bowl, Angeli engineered a drive in the closing seconds to get Notre Dame in field goal range and on the board before halftime.

He only completed 80 passes in 21 career games at Notre Dame, but the six he completed on seven attempts against Penn State went miles in turning the entire directon of that game around, which wound up being Notre Dame's biggest win in decades.

3. Sam Hartman

Notre Dame quarterback Sam Hartman takes a hard hit from Duke defenders as he was able to secure the first down. #CollegeFootball #NotreDame pic.twitter.com/mguDZkYPk8

— Justin David Kish • Sports Journalist (@JustinDavidKish) October 1, 2023

Hartman was Notre Dame's first mega-transfer at quarterback during the NIL era and was thought to be the savior when he came in. Things didn't turn out that way as his combined five interceptions that year against Louisville and Clemson were huge reasons for losses, but he did throw for over 2,600 yards while tossing 24 touchdown passes that season.

2. CJ Carr

Nov 15, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback CJ Carr (13) calls an audible at the line of scrimmage against the Pittsburgh Panthers during the fourth quarter at Acrisure Stadium. | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

OK, before you lose your mind and tell me how he's a Heisman Trophy contender this fall, take note that this is based off what has happened, not what hasn't happened yet.

Carr is a mega-talent and exactly what Notre Dame has been looking for at quarterback for years, when it was lacking behind the elites of college football in a big way at the position.

He may go on to win a national championship this season (please God, just one that I'm not only two years old for...) but based off what has happened to date, he's not in the top spot quite yet.

1. Riley Leonard

"I don't think I fully understood how big of a DAWG this guy is, and he showed it all against Georgia."@PatMcAfeeShow is impressed with Riley Leonard 👏 pic.twitter.com/gtdVNK6mbT

— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) January 10, 2025

Riley Leonard played just one season at Notre Dame, but what a year it was.

Yes, I'm fully aware of his struggles the first month of that season, which included an awful interception in a horrible loss to Northern Illinois.

I'm also aware of how nails he was down the stretch that regular season and how big he came up both through the air and on the ground in leading Notre Dame to a national championship appearance.

And heck, remember his opening drive against Ohio State in that game? Stuff of legend, even in spite of the loss.

Never forget when Notre Dame spammed 9 designed QB run plays in the opening drive of the National Championship game 😳

Here’s a few of the significant ones! Riley Leonard is a TANK 💪🏼 pic.twitter.com/cYM0L3vDse

— Jake Franklin Football (@JakeFranklinFB) August 8, 2025

Here's to hoping Carr can lead Notre Dame to win that final game of the season, hoist the big gold trophy, and be atop Leonard when I make this list again in a year.