CJ Carr impresses but Notre Dame quarterback competition far from over after Blue-Gold Game
CJ Carr put in an early submission for “throw of the day” on his first pass of the Blue-Gold Game on Saturday at Notre Dame Stadium. Later in the series, the sophomore quarterback might have topped it.
On throw No. 1, Carr ran play action and looked toward the flat. When his short option wasn’t there, he didn’t panic. Instead, he dropped a dime over the head of junior safety Adon Shuler, putting it where only graduate student tight end Kevin Bauman could reach it between Shuler and the sideline for a gain of 23.
On throw No. 1, he fit the ball into an even tighter window — again, over Shuler — to sophomore tight end Jack Larsen for a gain of 24. The returning starter’s coverage wasn’t bad. Carr’s throw was just better.
But Carr also wasn’t perfect. He threw an interception to junior nickel back Ben Minich on an under-pressure throw over the middle that probably shouldn’t have been made. Protecting the football is paramount for Notre Dame, and neither junior Kenny Minchey nor senior Steve Angeli put it in harm’s way. Carr did.
Minchey ran for a touchdown, made an impressive layered throw and slung a sidearm pass down the sideline for a big gain — although his completion percentage of 42.8 wasn’t his best. Angeli nearly matched Carr with a touchdown pass and produced the highest yards per attempt, although much of his production came against walk-ons in the secondary.
While Carr impressed early, each signal-caller had his moments as the offense defeated the defense 73-31 in a modified Blue-Gold Game scrimmage. It confirmed rumblings throughout spring practice that Notre Dame’s quarterback remains incredibly close as the Irish inch closer to its Aug. 31 season opener at Miami.
“It was a lot of good,” Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman said. “A lot of good from all three guys, and a lot of teaching opportunities.”
Angeli finished 8-of-11 for 108 yards and a touchdown. Minchey went 6-of-14 for 106, rushing for a score. Carr completed 14 of his 19 attempts for 170 yards, 2 touchdowns and an interception. It’s also important to note that Carr’s best moments came early in the afternoon against the best defenders.
Carr threw his touchdowns to freshman wide receiver Elijah Burress and sophomore walk-on wideout Xavier Southall. Angeli found freshman wide receiver Scrap Richardson for six.
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In Notre Dame’s eyes, the Blue-Gold Game carries little to no more weight than a standard practice. But Freeman said that the quarterbacks’ performance reflected the other 11 practices they’ve had to date.
“Those guys have been battling,” Freeman said. “They’ve all improved. They’re all doing some really good things.
“It’s crazy to think this: You got three guys that can all lead the program to a victory and be your starting quarterback.”
Freeman also gave unexpected update on Notre Dame’s timeline for selecting a quarterback: He said after the scrimmage that the Irish would like to narrow its competition down to two by the start of fall camp.
“It’s really hard to truly have a three-quarterback battle, but we gotta sit down and have conversations about what’s best for our program, what’s best for our quarterbacks,” Freeman said. “We’ll make those decisions in the future.”
If the Blue-Gold Game is any indication, difficult decisions are on the horizon for the Irish. The spring transfer portal window opens on Wednesday.
