With just two weeks left for the 2025 college football season to begin, teams are now finalizing their team sheets and declaring their starters. For instance, just recently, Alabama’s Kalen DeBoer announced Ty Simpson as the starter after a prolonged QB battle between him and Austin Mack. However, Notre Dame, till now, hasn’t followed suit, and both CJ Carr and Kenny Minchey’s futures hang in the balance. But now? After an insider’s sudden backing of one of the QBs, it seems Marcus Freeman has finally decided on his QB1.

Both Kenny Minchey and CJ Carr were touted to be talented QBs, each having different strengths, and thus making the battle go down to the wire. For context, Minchey, a redshirt junior, commanded his place on the back of his quick release, growth in mobility, and dual-threat role that Notre Dame wanted. On the other hand, CJ Carr, being a five-star recruit in the 2023 class, was the 6th-ranked QB in the class and carried immense buzz due to his high ceiling. But now?

On3’s national reporter, Steve Wiltfong, recently wrote an X post praising the talent of Kenny Minchey and how he impressed in the Elite 11 finals. “Notre Dame QB Kenny Minchey hasn’t popped up out of nowhere. Had some injuries in high school, but when he was on the field, he was accurate and could zip it around the yard. He certainly stood out at the Elite 11 Finals,” wrote Wiltfong. But how does Wiltfong’s post connect to Marcus Freeman’s QB1 declaration?

Of course, it doesn’t explicitly declare Kenny Minchey being the QB1, but given the scarcity of time left for the season to start, along with teams finally declaring their QB1s. It seems the post could signify the rumblings going on in South Bend, as Marcus Freeman probably would have declared his QB1. Moreover, earlier signs also point to Minchey winning the QB1 battle at Notre Dame.

Matt Gajewski, a college football journalist, reported recently that despite fall camp practices, CJ Carr didn’t look to be the apparent QB1 with his performances. “CJ Carr has been unable to separate from Kenny Minchey… this is a true QB battle,” reported Gajewski. Moreover, the offensive coordinator, Mike Denbrock, even hinted at the possibility of Minchey becoming the QB1.

“There is absolutely no reason why Kenny can’t be the starter,” said Denbrock. That said, without an official confirmation from the head coach, Marcus Freeman, it’s hard to pinpoint Minchey being the starter with 100% surety. But given the odd timing of Wiltfong’s post, it’s a huge possibility. Not just Wiltfong, but other national analysts were also high on Minchey being the starter.

Another analyst praises Kenny Minchey, potentially revealing Marcus Freeman’s plans

Marcus Freeman has faced his first true QB battle and earlier relied on transfer portal QBs like Riley Leonard and Sam Hartman. However, now that both CJ Carr and Kenny Minchey are inexperienced, the choice becomes tough to pick as Freeman would want to fulfill his national title hopes this year. Now, out of nowhere emerges Kenny Minchey, starting to sling that ball like a 5-star legacy recruit? No wonder J.D. PicKell of ON3 predicted fine margins in the battle.

“Kenny Minchey has made this more of a battle than most folks even realize at the flyover level because CJ Carr looked good in the spring game. Folks close to Notre Dame talk about Kenny Minchey like he’s a gunslinger dude, liable to throw the ball downfield,” declared J.D. PicKell in his recent podcast episode. The verdict?

Minchey, despite the ‘inexperienced’ tag, had started putting in some quite exciting performances both last year and this year in the spring games. “Folks close to Notre Dame talk about Kenny Minchey like he’s a gunslinger dude, liable to throw the ball downfield,” said Coach Gino Guiduhli about Minchey. Even his performance, hitting 12 of 19 passes for 123 yards and a touchdown along with 40 rushing yards, stood out last year, although CJ Carr did edge him in the 2025 spring game. That said, both CJ Carr and Minchey are incredible athletes, and Notre Dame would be in perfect hands with either of them standing under the center.