Marcus Freeman reaffirms confidence in Steve Angeli as backup quarterback

Having to go to your backup quarterback during a two-minute drill in the Semifinals of the College Football Playoff would spell disaster for most teams, but not for Marcus Freeman’s Notre Dame squad

For a small sliver of time, the Fighting Irish were playing without Riley Leonard against Penn State. Their starter took a big hit and had to undergo tests for a concussion. That’s when Steve Angeli was forced into the game, and in a big spot — Notre Dame needing points right before half, he needed to put together a drive.

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Angeli stepped up and helped the Irish get a field goal, cutting Penn State’s lead to 10-3. And getting the ball back out of the break, with Riley back in the game, a touchdown tied the game up early in the third quarter. A massive momentum swing, all ignited by Angeli’s brief moment of play.

After the dust settled on their victory, Freeman reaffirmed his confidence in Angeli, speaking to why Notre Dame trusted their backup quarterback to get the job done, even when he was coming in cold off the bench.

“It’s earned,” Freeman stated, regarding his confidence in Angeli and any other Notre Dame backup, via his postgame press conference following the Fighting Irish’s victory. “We’ve got a lot of confidence in Steve, and those other guys that had to step up, when their numbers are called. They’ve earned that confidence in practice, and Steve’s earned it in some game opportunities. But you earn the confidence from your coaching staff and from your teammates in practice.

“So, if you’re thrust into this opportunity out in the game, where everybody else can see you, that’s when they get to learn about you. But you know, we had a lot of confidence in Steve and what he can do, and we weren’t just going to put him in there to hand the ball off, we were going to try to go to score, and we ended up scoring three points.”

All told, Angeli entered with just over 1:30 remaining in the first half. He wound up throwing seven passes, completing six of them for 44 yards. Notre Dame fans inside Hard Rock Stadium did hold their breath at one point as Angeli took a huge hit and put the ball on the ground. Thankfully for them, the Irish recovered and the drive continued.

Mitch Jeter then hit a 41-yard field goal as time expired in the second quarter, turning out to be the second biggest field goal he hit on the night.

Regardless, Marcus Freeman and Notre Dame are likely not hoping Steve Angeli has to play on Jan. 20 from Atlanta. Riley Leonard has been their guy all season and continues to come through in clutch situations, especially when facing a team like Ohio State, with their quarterback potentially being the difference maker.

On3’s Griffin McVeigh contributed to this article.