If you thought Notre Dame’s QB room would have a clear pecking order by now, think again. The hunt for Riley Leonard‘s replacement isn’t going to end anytime soon. Head coach Marcus Freeman isn’t sugarcoating anything and honestly, it’s refreshing. On Wednesday, he sent a loud message for South Bend to hear.

“I’m not a huge proponent of having truly ‘two starters’,” the HC said. “I believe there has to be one guy who’s the starting quarterback.” And that guy? Still TBD. Right now, the Irish have a four-man race — Kenny Minchey, CJ Carr, Blake Hebert, and Anthony Rezac. Former QB1 contender Steve Angeli hit the transfer portal, reportedly bound for Syracuse. So, things are moving.

Here’s where it gets interesting. On April 23, Notre Dame beat writer Jack Soble dropped the latest twist — “Notre Dame will hold a ‘true competition’ between Kenny Minchey and CJ Carr in fall camp.” The X post is an excerpt of what Marcus Freeman said during his press conference speech, where he discussed the state of their QB room. “Both we believe have the ability to be the starting QB,” he said. “Both have done a tremendous job in improving through spring practice. Every single quarterback has improved. It was awesome to see.” So you can bet there will be no hidden favorites and no scripted outcomes. 

Yet, there’s a rub. There just haven’t been enough reps to let either guy fully pull away. “You know there were certain days they would get 12 team reps each. It’s not many,” Marcus Freeman said. “That’s probably why I said that it’s hard to have a true three-quarterback battle in fall camp. There’s just not enough reps to go around.” That’s why this summer will be a pressure cooker. 

The HC plans on simulating real action between the two guys with limited experience “The thing you can create when you have a competition, a true competition where it’s 50-50, you guys are gonna battle it out as you try to put some of that pressure that a real game presents,” he added. “And you have to perform and practice cause you understand if you don’t perform consistently, the other guy is pretty good then he might take off with this race.” That’s not just pep talk. That’s the reality. 

CJ Carr, the grandson of Michigan coach Lloyd Carr, is a 4-star freshman out of Saline High School, but no experience. Meanwhile, Kenny Minchey’s been in the system longer. A sophomore, he already finished 3-of-3 passes for 16 yards for Notre Dame. Still, nothing definitive. But Marcus Freeman is more than excited — “I’m pleased that we’re gonna have a true competition as we begin call camp and try to create some pressure situations for those guys that they have to perform so that the first time they feel that pressure isn’t going to be when we play Miami.” With the clock ticking toward that August 31 season opener against Miami under the bright lights of Hard Rock Stadium? ND better get this one right. And as if their QB situation doesn’t have enough dilemma, a wildcard enters the picture…

Marcus Freeman is considering Tyler Buchner as a QB

Just like that, Tyler Buchner might be back in the QB picture. Yeah, it’s that QB who started for Notre Dame in 2021. He transferred to Alabama and came back to South Bend as a wide receiver. And now, there’s a chance he might be taking snaps again, especially after losing Steve Angeli in the transfer portal. “That’s something we’ve discussed,” Marcus Freeman said. “We’ll look at the total number of arms, bodies that we have to practice.” 

Despite the curious QB dilemma, this move makes sense too. Buchner’s got real-game experience unlike the other four roster guys who haven’t started a single CFB game. As an Irish, he had three starts and recorded 1,033 yards and six TDs. He was also named the Gator Bowl MVP after beating South Carolina 45-38 and scoring five TDs in 2022. And when you’re staring down a high-stakes season opener, experience might trump hype. 

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Right now, Notre Dame has options. But no answers. And as Marcus Freeman said, reps are limited. So we’ll see how this pans out.