Notre Dame Quarterback Steve Angeli To Enter The Transfer Portal

Notre Dame went through a significant quarterback battle this spring and it appears that redshirt freshman CJ Carr and redshirt sophomore Kenny Minchey will be the final two players in that battle. Senior Steve Angeli will enter the transfer portal after a spring that saw him get outplayed by Carr and Minchey.

Angeli passed for 772 yards and 10 touchdowns during his Notre Dame career while completing 72.5-percent of his passes. He started Notre Dame's Sun Bowl matchup against Oregon State at the end of the 2023 season. In that game - a 40-8 Notre Dame win - Angeli completed 15-19 passes for 232 yards and three touchdowns.

Angeli was the backup in 2024 to starter Riley Leonard and he was called upon again late in the Orange Bowl when Leonard was knocked out for a series. Angeli complete 6-7 passes for 44 yards and got the Irish into field goal range, which helped the Irish get on the board.

The New Jersey native was a very well respected member of the program and he was a quality backup for the Irish. The reality this spring is that Angeli was just not as good as the two younger players, and that reality led to Angeli going into the portal.

DEPTH CHART IMPACT

The odds of Notre Dame keeping all three quarterbacks in the battle for the starting job was slim, and Angeli is the first to bow out. As long as he's the only quarterback to enter the portal the Irish depth chart is in great shape. Carr and Minchey would take their battle into the fall to see who ultimately earns the starting spot.

Losing Angeli means the Irish lose a leader and a respected player, and they also lose their most experienced player. That experience only goes so far, as Angeli's one career start would get surpassed by the new starter by week two, and all three quarterbacks have the same amount of time in the Mike Denbrock offense.

Notre Dame also has true freshman Blake Hebert, who also had a quality spring, as well as talented walk-on Anthony Rezac, which helps solidify the depth chart. If Notre Dame gets nervous about its depth chart the coaches could also choose to move former starting quarterback Tyler Buchner back to quarterback, which would give the room another experienced, dynamic athlete at the position. Buchner is actually the most experienced quarterback on the roster, having started three games in his career.