Marcus Freeman is in no mood to rush his decision over Fighting Irish’s QB1 for the next season. Freeman, of course, has learned from history. Apart from the five-month window between now and the Labor Day weekend opener at Miami, there’s also the spring transfer portal for Freeman to contend with. In 2023, he saw Tyler Buchner leave for Alabama in the portal days after the spring game, when it became obvious that the role belonged to Sam Hartman. So, we might have to wait a little longer to see who comes out on top in the three-way battle for the QB1 spot in Notre Dame.

With Riley Leonard declaring for the draft, Steve Angeli, Kenny Minchey, and CJ Carr are contending to replace him in Freeman’s setup. Each player has their areas of strength and concern, and the head coach will have to read a lot of things during the rest of the practices to name the winner. Angelli has done the best while avoiding pressure and scrambling around, and per the last spring observation, Minchey stood out in getting the ball out in time. But nobody seemed to inch closer to wrapping up the race anytime soon.

While Angeli does seem to be the favorite to start once the season commences, the decision might be delayed even more given the latest addition to Notre Dame’s injury list. On Saturday, Marcus Freeman announced that offensive lineman Guerby Lambert was out for the remainder of spring following as he underwent shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum. Insider Tyler Wojciak questioned whether this latest setback will influence whom Freeman opts to replace Leonard.

On Wednesday, Wojciak joined Jamie Uyeyama on Locked on Irish to discuss Notre Dame’s situation. He said, “Notre Dame’s offensive line was already dealing with injuries. We’ve learned that tackle Guerby Lambert suffered a torn labrum, and he’s not going to be back until the fall. So, these quarterbacks are working with like the twos and threes. Even if they’re going out there with the ones, like Notre Dame’s offensive line is just so depleted at this point. How much does the state of the offensive line affect the decision about who will be the starting quarterback?” 

Lambert played in three regular-season games at right tackle last season, logging 53 offensive snaps in total. He also contributed on special teams, appearing on the field-goal unit during the final three games of the College Football Playoff. Providing an update on the situation, Freeman said Lambert is “expected back in the fall,” but it means his chances of taking a starting spot take a major hit. This could give highly-touted true freshman Will Black a chance to impress. But once Lambert is back, he might be expected to start.

Offensive line coach Joe Rudolph recently said the spring plan was for Lambert to “get a ton of reps” at both right and left tackle, suggesting he was going to be the first choice. With Lambert sidelined and starting right tackle Aamil Wagner following an individualized plan this spring, Notre Dame turned to midyear enrollees Matty Augustine and Owen Strebig at right tackle, while also rotating second-year tackle Styles Prescod between both sides. But Lambert’s injury presents bigger worries for Freeman in terms of making a decision over his QB1.

Jeremiyah Love, who has been a reliable weapon in the offense, went down with a hamstring injury on Saturday. “We took him out of practice just to be smart right there,” Freeman said. “I don’t think it’s serious.” Freshman wide receiver Micah Gilbert broke his hand on the first play of his first practice of the year and may not return until fall. Players like Gi’Bran Payne, Taebron Bennie Powell, and Quentin Autry are all dealing with their respective injuries this offseason. Cole Mullins, the thumping edge rusher, is taking his time to recover from last season’s knee injury. He might be limitedly available during late practices. All these circumstances led to a single outshot, that’s a cumulative delay in the QB question.

“I mean, it definitely has an impact. I think from that perspective, too. It ultimately delays when they were. Just to say, I don’t think they were going to make a decision by the end of spring. But it makes it impossible,” Jamie U dished a much-needed reality check.

So far, Steve Angeli has emerged as a slight frontrunner in this race. He showcased tremendous brilliance for the Fighting Irish against Penn State in the semis of the playoffs, maybe the one. The junior quarterback may have just thrown for 44 yards in that game, but he led the Irish to a field goal drive. In the end, they won by a margin of a field goal. But Angeli might not have the ball in his court by the time Marcus Freeman chooses to spill the beans.

Is Steve Angeli losing his card in the intense QB race at South Bend?

Last week’s practice was not Steve Angeli’s best finish at all. He was palpably limiting down the field. His ball placement looked dinged up in a rare course of events.

Although he handled the pressure well, he scored the most drops. He had Cam Williams wide open for what could have been a long touchdown pass on an RPO. But since the ball was behind, there has been room for doubt. He also missed an end zone throw to KK Smith, where he placed the ball about 6-7 yards out of bounds. On the other hand, Minchey is gaining momentum. He looked in control last week in the scrimmage.

“I think if you were going to say that the best guy on the day was easily Kenny Minchey. I think, by far, he came out with the ones to start it. That’s obviously an advantage when you know when you’re working with the first group. But I think he made the most of it. He handled the pressure the best, and he was the most accurate over the course of the day. He did throw one pick; it was tipped by Cole Mullins,” Jamie U said as he tracked down the progress that the savvy pocket passer has made.

However, ultimately, it will be at Marcus Freeman’s discretion who will have the torch going forward. The best we can do is to connect the dots.