Four-star quarterback Kenny Minchey commits to Notre Dame football

Notre Dame has landed its quarterback recruit in the 2023 cycle, with Hendersonville (Tenn.) Pope John Paul II standout Kenny Minchey pledging to the Fighting Irish on Tuesday afternoon.

A one-time Pittsburgh commitment, Minchey gives the Fighting Irish the big-time signal-caller they’ve desperately needed in the class. The combination of academics and athletics made it a rather easy decision in the end for Minchey, who was on campus this past weekend for an official visit.

“Before I went up there, I already knew from talking to different people about what Notre Dame can do for you and the connections and network you’ll have,” Minchey told Blue & Gold. “The life after football, those opportunities and the brand — it’s probably the best in the country.”

Minchey will sign his letter of intent with Notre Dame Dec. 21 on National Signing Day and is expected to enroll at the university in January.

The 6-2.5, 215-pounder is the No. 14 quarterback and No. 220 overall player nationally according to the 2023 On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

“I’m a football junkie, hardworking and am willing to do whatever it takes to win,” Minchey said. “I want to win a national championship at Notre Dame.”

He becomes Notre Dame’s 24th commitment of the 2023 cycle, a group that is ranked No. 3 according to the 2023 Consensus Football Team Recruiting Rankings. As good as the class has been for Notre Dame, there was a major question mark about it without the quarterback position being filled. But with Minchey, Notre Dame has its man.

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Minchey in depth on Notre Dame commitment

The four-star prospect committed to Pittsburgh over offers from Michigan State, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and others at the end of April. On July 30, he picked up an offer from the Irish, but because of the August recruiting dead period — which means no face-to-face contact permitted between recruits and college coaches — and the start of his senior season, he didn’t give the Fighting Irish much attention. He was also solid with his pledge to the Panthers.

But Notre Dame continued to reach out to remain in the picture, and their efforts paid off.

“Coach [Marcus] Freeman and Coach [Tommy] Rees kept in contact between the time they offered and now,” Minchey explained. “My parents were pushing for me to take interest in Notre Dame, but I was locked in with Pitt. But when Coach Rees texted me a couple weeks ago, I told my parents, and we had a sit-down conversation about it. That’s when we opened it up and planned on going on a visit the following weekend.”

There wasn’t a new revelation that caused Minchey to start considering Notre Dame. He simply decided to dive into the possibility of Notre Dame after Rees’ recent message, and Fighting Irish fans should be happy he did.

“It wasn’t anything major; it was all the same stuff that I could’ve taken interest in when they did offer me,” he noted. “I was keeping my eyes set on my senior season. But after talking with my parents, I listened to what (Notre Dame) had to say.”

This past weekend was Minchey’s second time at Notre Dame; he also participated in a prospect camp for the Irish staff in June 2021. The Irish were the clear leader heading into his official visit, but it was still very important for it to go well so that Notre Dame could lock up his commitment.

And went well it did.

“It was great,” he said. “I was connecting with the other recruits and players there. Both days were busy and super fun. I was really looking forward to sitting down with Coach Freeman, because I hadn’t met him yet. I enjoyed talking to him about the tradition he’s continuing to carry on there and how much he believes in me and the quarterback I can be at Notre Dame.

“And sitting down with Coach Rees, he explained how he believes in me as well. They think I can open up the offense. They’re known for having top offensive linemen and tight ends and adding a top quarterback will only make them that much better.”

Minchey admits that going into the visit he knew it was probable he’d end up committing to the Irish. The moment it became reality for him was during the “legacy walk” which is a new recruiting feature done by the Notre Dame staff that explains more of the history and tradition of the Fighting Irish football program.

“I kind of knew when I went up there, but I would say during the legacy walk. Coach Rees was talking to me about how he envisions me there and the type of player I can be,” Minchey said. “It was pretty cool to hear him talk about me. That was a pretty big moment.”

He informed the Notre Dame staff of his decision to commit privately on Sunday.

“I met with Coach Freeman right before I left for the airport. But before that, I was with Coach Rees to talk about how he coaches, concepts and to talk football,” Minchey explained. “I told him I was committing at the end of our conversation, and then I told Coach Freeman after that.”

Minchey attends the same high school that produced former Notre Dame wide receiver Golden Tate, and the Irish legend got in touch with Minchey for the first time last week. The timing of that couldn’t have been coincidental.

“He hit me up and said how he’s proud of the high school career I had,” Minchey said.

The Kenny Minchey file

In 13 games played in 2021, Minchey completed 215 of 351 passes for 3,280 yards with 32 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. On the ground, he added 137 yards and 3 scores on 52 attempts.

He suffered a shoulder injury in early September and missed most of his senior season but was able to return to action Nov. 4 and led his team to a 35-13 playoff victory that night. He felt some discomfort in his throwing shoulder the next week and decided not to risk potential injury by playing further.

During his shortened senior season that included five full games, Minchey completed 65 of 94 passes for 1,007 yards with 15 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. He added 43 rushing yards on 11 carries.

Minchey is committed to playing in the 2023 All-American Bowl in San Antonio, a game that will be played Jan. 7 on NBC.

All of Notre Dame’s quarterback recruits going back to the 2020 cycle played (or were going to play) in the All-American Bowl or Under Armour All-America Game. Drew Pyne (2020) and Steve Angeli (2022) played in the UA game, while Minchey will play in the AAB.

Tyler Buchner (2021) was going to play in the UA game in 2021, but it was canceled due to COVID-19 concerns. In the 2024 cycle, Saline (Mich.) High quarterback CJ Carr is already committed to Notre Dame, and he has invites to play in both all-star games.

Minchey was a finalist for the 2021 Tennessee Titans Division II, Class 3A Mr. Football Award.

He was named to the 2022 Elite 11, which was determined by junior film and performance at the event’s finals.