Everything Notre Dame quarterbacks coach Gino Guidugli said during spring practice

Notre Dame is holding a quarterback competition between Steve Angeli, Kenny Minchey and CJ Carr in spring practice. That’s nothing new for QBs coach Gino Guidugli, who enters his third season in South Bend.

“When I was at Cincinnati my second year, we had five quarterbacks in the spring that Coach [Luke] Fickell wanted me to get reps,” Guidugli said Friday morning. “So I’ve been down this road before.”

Here’s everything Guidugli had to say about the three-man battle to start for Notre Dame on Aug. 31 at Miami.

On Carr’s biggest growth from Year 1 at Notre Dame to Year 2

Just experience in the offense, command of the offense, being in the second year of the offense. Just full understanding of what we’re trying to accomplish on offense, run game and pass game. He’s done a good job of jumping into that, and then to build on that, once you kind of master the offense, you’re not thinking about that anymore. Your ability to process the defense pre-snap, I think he’s came a long way there.

On the strengths that stand out about all three Notre Dame quarterbacks

When you talk about Steve, Steve’s obviously got some game experience, has had the ability to start the 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. And then CJ, CJ has got great arm talent, is a natural leader. So I would say those things kind of are their strengths.

On the growth process for Minchey

I think when Tyler Buchner transferred two years ago and we made the decision not to go to the portal that year to replace him and decided to invest those reps into Steve, into Kenny, Kenny really benefitted from that scenario and had a whole summer and a whole fall to get a bunch of reps that freshmen don’t normally get. So I feel like Kenny’s kind of — even though he doesn’t have that game experience, he’s kind of ahead of the curve, because that true freshman season, he got a bunch of reps that true freshmen really don’t ever receive.

On how Minchey has improved

Oh, mentally, Kenny’s on it now. We do a script review every practice in our meeting before we walk out. Kenny’s the guy who’s gonna come in and when the coach is making a mistake on the script, he’s gonna be the first one to say, ‘Hey, on Play 12, is that supposed to be —’ ‘No, Kenny, you’re right. That was supposed to be this.’ 

On Angeli’s approach to the spring

I think Steve’s just approaching it like it’s his job. Like, ‘I’m the guy that everybody’s gotta beat out. I’m the guy with the experience. I’m the guy that’s next in line. This is my job.’ I think that’s the approach they all gotta take. But I think specifically for Steve, he’s the veteran in the room and I feel like he’s approaching it like, ‘It’s my job.’

On if the other two Notre Dame quarterbacks have that approach

Absolutely. Nobody’s gonna take a back seat to the next. They’re all super competitive, which is gonna 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 just gotta make the most of the opportunities they get, stack days, be really consistent, make the guys around them better and be great leaders.

On the system of everyone getting reps with the ones in each practice

That’s exactly right, and we’re doing a great job of tracking all that stuff. I met with all three of those guys, and they understand exactly what it’s gonna look like and how we’re gonna break it up. But we’re gonna 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. Just based on, like, ‘Hey, I extended the drive that went 16 plays.’ Well, I’m not gonna 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.

On if he’s had experience with a three-man competition

When I was at Cincinnati my second year, we had five quarterbacks in the spring that Coach Fickell wanted me to get reps. So I’ve been down this road before.

On which segment of practice a quarterback develops in

Team. There’s not a doubt. Team. You gotta 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 like, at the end of the day, your job is gonna be decision making. And that’s gonna happen under fire. Gotta see that this guy can play with anticipation, you gotta see that he’s got the answer when the play isn’t there. You gotta 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.

On the first-team rep distribution when Leonard was out last spring

It was primarily Steve, and Kenny and CJ kind of split the twos.

On Carr’s improvement in the weight room at Notre Dame

Yeah, I got no complaints for the guy. Sometimes you worry, because he’s such a competitor that if there was something that was ailing, he’s not gonna necessarily tell you. But when you see the ball come out of his hand, it’s flying out of there. His feet look really sound. He’s looking better in our zone-read stuff, pulling the ball and running or taking off and scrambling, so I’m really happy with where he’s at.

On where the added strength shows in Carr’s game

Yeah, a little bit more explosive, more durable probably are the two things. And I think it’s a bunch of small muscle stuff, just making sure, like keeping your arm in good shape.

On the credibility Angeli earned in the Orange Bowl and the Sun Bowl a year earlier in terms of how the Notre Dame locker room views him

Yeah, I think it weighs a lot. In any industry, I think if you’ve got a guy that’s been in there and done it and had success, that speaks to the people around you. There’s a little bit more credibility that comes with it, and those who haven’t kind of still gotta go out and prove it. You can do great things in seven-on-seven or great things throwing one-on-ones, but until you do it in that stadium with 80,000 people screaming at you and people coming after the ball, trying to slam you into the ground, it matters.

On how Angeli has changed as the older guy in the room

Steve’s always kind of been a natural leader. I think it’s kind of tricky when you got guys — it’s no different when it was Sam and Tyler or no different when it was Steve and Riley last year — it’s kind of tricky when you got a competition, just at that position. Because it’s such a leadership position, right? And it’s hard to lead where there’s multiple guys at times, right? You don’t want to get in the other guy’s way when he’s in there. Like, who’s the true voice of the football team? Usually it’s the quarterback, in most cases, on most successful football teams. Those guys are pretty good at navigating. Steve’s been down this road before. And like I told the gentleman earlier, he’s approaching it like his job, and I wouldn’t expect anything different. He’s a guy with experience. He’s gonna approach it like it’s his job to lose.

On if Angeli has always been like that, despite Hartman and Leonard being at Notre Dame before

Always. That’s the competitor you want, don’t you? Out of every guy in your room, that’s a requirement of that position. And like I said, when it is a competition, you’re trying to navigate it because they have a great relationship inside that room. They’re not trying to step on each other’s toes, but like, there’s opportunities to step up and lead, who’s going to be the one to do it when it’s in a team setting, that’s where you gotta navigate it. At some point, you gotta name a guy, so the team can kind of — ‘Hey, this is the guy. This is the guy we’re listening to. This is the guy that’s gonna speak up when something needs to be said.’

On if it’s rare to name a starter in the spring

I think if there’s a true separation, but like, the closer the talent is in the room, it’s harder — the separation, like, you gotta find fine points to figure out who the guy is gonna be. Now, if somebody just comes in and tanks, it makes it easier. No, hopefully you got a hard decision at the end of the day, because everybody’s performing so well. And you feel like you got three good ones, but which one’s gonna give you the best chance to win when you go to Miami to play the Hurricanes?