Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://read.uberflip.com/i/1518481
BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM MAY 2024 23 "Listen, we have to name a starting quarterback, and not having Riley for spring ball has kind of changed the pro- cess to being able to do that," Freeman said. "At some point, we've got to name a starting quarterback, and when we feel like we're ready to do that we will." Even if Leonard returns for the end of spring ball, which ends with the Blue- Gold Game April 20, Notre Dame's op- portunity to evaluate him alongside An- geli has shrunk considerably. In his absence, the second team be- longs to sophomore Kenny Minchey and freshman CJ Carr will run with the threes. Freeman confirmed that Angeli is ahead of Minchey and Carr on the quar- terback depth chart, at least for now. That does not mean Angeli is now the favorite over Leonard to take the first snap against Texas A&M Aug. 31 in Col- lege Station, Texas. But it may change the time frame in which the Irish make that decision. "Is it fall camp? Is it after spring ball?" Freeman said. "I don't know, but what we've got to do is to continue to look at the body of work." That "body of work" comment refers to both Leonard and Angeli's perfor- mance in practice and the game tape they've put out during their college ca- reers. Leonard was a two-year starter at Duke, earning NFL consideration before injuries derailed that possibility during his junior year. Angeli has started one game, albeit a very successful one. He piloted a 40-8 Notre Dame victory over Oregon State in the 2023 Sun Bowl. The traits that drew Notre Dame to Leonard in the first place — size, arm strength, athleticism and leadership — are still there. Freeman won't let an in- jury setback that should not affect him past the end of the school year prevent him from putting those traits on the field. Only Angeli outplaying Leonard thoroughly enough in practice would give the coaching staff pause to do that. While the Irish won't rush their deci- sion, Freeman acknowledged that they can't drag it out too far, either. Chemis- try matters on offense, and whoever lines up at quarterback will need all the first- team reps he can get in order to build it. "I love competition, and so the abil- ity to have a quarterback competition is exciting to me, because I think it makes everybody better," Freeman said. "But I also understand, as [offensive coordina- tor Mike] Denbrock and [quarterbacks] Coach [Gino] Guidugli will say, is we need the continuity between a quarter- back and the offensive line." If Freeman does feel the need to stretch the competition into fall camp, it likely won't be too far into August be- fore he makes a call. His third season at Notre Dame depends on it. HEAVEN IN 11 So far in spring ball, new Irish offen- sive coordinator Mike Denbrock is mak- ing good on his promise to create space for Notre Dame's playmakers. On Day 1, Freeman said he'd rarely seen so many successful deep shots in one practice. Senior wide receiver Jayden Thomas looked rejuvenated and explosive, Florida International trans- fer Kris Mitchell raised eyebrows with a highlight-reel grab down the right side- line and Marshall transfer Jayden Har- "Listen, we have to name a starting quarterback, and not having Riley [Leonard] for spring ball has kind of changed the process to being able to do that. … When we feel like we're ready to do that we will." HEAD COACH MARCUS FREEMAN Quarterback No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 13 Riley Leonard^ 6-4 217 Sr./1 18 Steve Angeli 6-2 203 Jr./3 8 Kenny Minchey 6-2 209 So./4 12 CJ Carr* 6-3 206 Fr./4 Running Back 4 Jeremiyah Love 6-0 196 So./3 24 Jadarian Price 5-10 201 Jr./3 3 Gi'Bran Payne 5-9 203 Jr./3 20 Aneyas Williams* 5-10 203 Fr./4 21 Kedren Young* 6-0 229 Fr./4 Boundary Receiver (W) 83 Jayden Thomas 6-2 218 Sr./2 — Beaux Collins+ 6-3 210 Sr./1 0 Deion Colzie 6-4 212 Sr./1 14 Micah Gilbert* 6-2 204 Fr./4 Field Receiver (X) 10 Kris Mitchell 6-0 184 Gr./1 11 KK Smith 6-0 170 So./4 17 Cam Williams* 6-2 201 Fr./4 Slot Receiver (Y) No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 19 Jaden Greathouse 6-1 205 So./3 5 Jordan Faison 5-10 179 So./3 2 Jayden Harrison 5-10 194 Gr./1 — Logan Saldate+ 5-11 185 Fr./4 Tight End 88 Mitchell Evans^ 6-5 260 Sr./1 9 Eli Raridon^ 6-7 252 Jr./2 87 Cooper Flanagan 6-6 249 So./3 85 Jack Larsen* 6-3 240 Fr./4 38 Davis Sherwood 6-3 237 Sr./1 84 Kevin Bauman^ 6-5 255 Gr./2 Left Tackle 56 Charles Jagusah 6-7 329 So./4 75 Sullivan Absher 6-7 325 So./4 71 Styles Prescod* 6-6 283 Fr./4 — Guerby Lambert+ 6-6 290 Fr./4 Left Guard 78 Pat Coogan 6-5 302 Sr./2 72 Sam Pendleton 6-4 307 So./4 73 Peter Jones* 6-5 295 Fr./4 Center No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 70 Ashton Craig 6-4 308 Jr./3 64 Joe Otting 6-3 297 So./4 Right Guard 74 Billy Schrauth 6-5 306 Jr./3 50 Rocco Spindler 6-5 324 Sr./2 77 Ty Chan 6-5 313 Jr./3 55 Chris Terek 6-5 331 So./4 Right Tackle 79 Tosh Baker 6-8 321 Gr./2 59 Aamil Wagner 6-6 292 Jr./3 54 Anthonie Knapp* 6-4 276 Fr./4 * Early enrollee + Enrolling in the summer ^ Injured 2024 Offense Scholarship Depth Chart