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Notre Dame Quarterback Battle 2025: Latest Thoughts on the QB Competition
Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr throws a pass during a football practice at Irish Athletic Center on Thursday, July 31, 2025, in South Bend. MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Notre Dame Quarterback Battle: Uncertainty is causing unique pre-season anxiety

There's always a certain level of palpable anxiety present for the fan and media base of any football team in fall camp.

Regardless of how promising things look, how deep the team appears to be, nobody truly knows how good a team is until real games start and concrete evidence emerges.

This phenomenon is especially prevalent for brand-name college teams with rabid and expansive fan bases, such as Notre Dame.

While this undercurrent of excitement, hope, and anxiety always exists as a baseline in the run-up to a season, Notre Dame has an extra layer in play this year at the QB position.

Is CJ Carr the main man for the Irish?


Is CJ Carr the man after coming to South Bend with so much fanfare and hype? Or is the more reserved Kenny Minchey the best choice after the Irish managed to sway him away from Pat Narduzzi and Pitt at the last minute?

The answer to this question remains to be known, as it seems this battle shifts more than the late summer winds in South Bend as days continue to be scratched off the calendar on the march to Miami.

Closing Time for the Irish quarterback derby

What's most interesting to me about this battle is that the fan angst surrounding this decision seems less about who wins the job and more about the general uncertainty at the most important position in individual sports, with the season right around the corner.

Whether Carr or Minchey wins the job, the Irish fan base will rally behind said player and wish him well. While the QB uncertainty is adding to the normal level of preseason anxiety, this isn't the worst place to be as a program. Both of these players have skill sets that can help the Irish win, and that's a plus.

Marcus Freeman has stated multiple times that he doesn't want to "name" a starter, but rather he hopes one of these players will rise to the occasion, impress in fall camp, and make it obvious that he's the man.

This is where time does become an issue. At some point, very shortly, Notre Dame will need to start preparing specifically for Miami, and that means a starter must be named and known so that he can run with the ones and begin to work on the plan to attack the Hurricanes.

If no player clearly emerges soon, Freeman and company may have to make a decision, one they'd prefer was made for them on the field. The next week to ten days will be very interesting in Notre Dame land as the masses wait to see who will assume one of the most prestigious roles in all of sports.

For more Irish news & notes, follow John on Twitter @alwaysirishINC, Always Irish on Youtube and on your preferred audio podcast provider.


This article first appeared on Notre Dame Fighting Irish on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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