Notre Dame Football Receives National Praise for Its Biggest Unknown

Who will even start at quarterback for Notre Dame this fall?

Nov 11, 2024; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame football quarterbacks (from left to right) Riley Leonard, Kenny Minchey, Steve Angeli, Anthony Rezac and CJ Carr watch in the first half of the basketball game between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Buffalo Bulls at the Purcell Pavilion. / Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

Notre Dame's biggest question entering Spring football is a rather simple one:

Who is going to start at quarterback?

Steve Angeli brings the experience while CJ Carr brings the highest recruiting ranking and Kenny Minchey plays the role of the talented underdog. But at this point who ultimately wins the race for the opener at Miami on August 31 is anything but easy to see.

That didn't stop one national outlet from giving Notre Dame's quarterback room massive praise, however.

CBS Sports High on Notre Dame's Quarterbacks for 2025

Jan 18, 2025; Atlanta, GA, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Steve Angeli (18) throws the ball during practice at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Despite there being an incredibly low amount of experience at quarterback for Notre Dame entering the 2025 season, CBS Sports still praises the depth of the room. The outlet recently rated the deepest quarterback rooms in the nation and ranked Notre Dame fifth.

The Fighting Irish should have a dynamic battle for the starting quarterback position between Angeli and Carr, two players who have proven their loyalty to the program. Carr, the grandson of former Michigan coach Lloyd Carr, ranked as the top quarterback recruit at Notre Dame since Brandon Wimbush nearly a decade ago. Angeli has owned the backup snaps to this point, and he showed a speedy release and serious arm talent. Either should quickly bring an infusion of downfield passing ability to the Notre Dame offense, which has not been a guarantee in recent years. 

Nick Shepkowski's Quick Takeaway

Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr throws the ball during a Notre Dame football practice at Irish Athletic Center on Wednesday, July 31, 2024, in South Bend. / MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK

Essentially all this list does is tell me that Notre Dame has had better recruiting rankings of its quarterbacks in recent years. There is no doubt Angeli and Carr should be able to push the ball downfield much better than Notre Dame has recently. It's also worth noting that in losing Riley Leonard, Notre Dame loses a huge part of what made the Fighting Irish rushing attack so great last season. Putting in a significantly less mobile quarterback (that's not a knock, Leonard is a mega-athlete) has its positives and negatives.

I'm excited to see what a Notre Dame offense can look like with the potential for more of a downfield passing game but I'm certainly concerned about what the offense as a whole might look like taking out the quarterback being a fantastic runner.

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