Gino Guidugli Talks Quarterbacks Notre Dame Quarterback Battle

If Gino Guidugli had 99 problems, the talent in his Notre Dame quarterback room would not be one of them. Notre Dame’s quarterback coach enters his fourth season on Marcus Freeman’s staff with a full-blown quarterback derby in effect this spring. Guidugli knows the process of picking from between veteran Steve Angeli, sophomore Kenny Minchey and freshman CJ Carr won’t be easy because of the talent each member of the trio possesses.

“When you talk about Steve, Steve’s obviously got some game experience,” Guidugli remarked. (He) has had the ability to start the (Sun) Bowl game two years ago and has gotten opportunities to come in and perform in live games and has always performed really well when he’s gone in there. So, I’d say experience. He’s also a really accurate passer. He’s a great leader.

“In terms of Kenny, Kenny’s probably the most athletic of the bunch, also a really accurate passer,” Guidugli continued. “Then CJ, CJ has got great arm talent (and) is a natural leader. So, I would say those things kind of are their strengths.”

Quarterback competitions are not uncommon, but this is the first true competition the Irish have had in a while after transfer portal quarterbacks Sam Hartman and Riley Leonard brought their experience with them to take the helm for the Irish the last two years. What makes this competition unique is the fact that three players are involved.

Two quarterbacks vying for the top spot is easy math – simply split their reps with the first team 50-50. But three men in the competition makes it impossible from a practical standpoint to get all three enough quality reps every day if each is only taking a third of the snaps. The reps may not be equal every day but there will be balance over the course of the spring.

"We’re doing a great job of tracking all that stuff,” Guidugli explained. “I met with all three of those guys, and they understand exactly what it’s going to look like and how we’re going to break it up. But we’re going to try to make it as even as we can. 

"Now, when we get into some scrimmage situations and some ‘call it’ situations, where the plays aren’t necessarily scripted, that’s when the plays can kind of get out of balance," Guidugli continued. "Just based on, like, ‘Hey, I extended the drive that went 16 plays.’ Well, I’m not going to pull him out in the middle of the drive because the rep count gets off. At that point, like, hey, you’re running with the offense and the offense is moving, that’s a signal that you’re having some pretty good success, and the offense is being efficient once you’re in there. If you’re the guy who goes in and goes three-and-out, like, it’s part of the game.”

Each practice, spring or fall, is broken into multiple, short periods. Each one has a different purpose. Whether it’s a period of throwing to receivers with no defenders present or a seven-on-seven session, every period has a purpose. But the segment of practice where a quarterback develops the most is easy for Guidugli to pick.

“Team,” Guidugli declared without hesitation. “There’s not a doubt. Team. You’ve got to be in there, under fire, making decisions under fire. That’s the only way. All the other stuff is great. Like, there’s aspects that you’re going to develop. But, at the end of the day, your job is going to be decision making and that’s going to happen under fire.

“You’ve got to see that this guy can play with anticipation. You’ve got to see that he’s got the answer when the play isn’t there. You’ve got to see that he’s got situational awareness. When you get into third down, you get in the red zone, you get into a two-minute situation, putting them in situations and seeing how they react. See how the team responds to them, see how they make the guys around them better.”

In addition to their physical talents, each of the three quarterbacks possess another quality that is essential to play football’s most important position – confidence. None of them lack it and Guidugli says Angeli, Minchey and Carr all believe that they are “the guy” to run Notre Dame’s offense.

“Nobody’s going to take a back seat to the next,” Guidugli remarked. “They’re all super competitive, which is going to make them all great. There’s a great camaraderie inside that room. They all understand what’s at stake. But at the end of the day, it’s not Kenny vs. Steve or CJ vs. Kenny. It’s Kenny vs. Kenny and Steve vs. Steve and CJ vs. CJ. They’ve just got to make the most of the opportunities they get, stack days, be really consistent, make the guys around them better and be great leaders.”

Notre Dame has 15 practices scheduled this spring. The spring practice season runs through April 12 when all three quarterbacks are expected to be on display with their teammates in the annual Blue-Gold Game at Notre Dame Stadium.