The Fighting Irish have had somewhat of a good start to the 2024 season. Winning their first game against Texas A&M at 23-13, followed by a loss to Northern IL at 16-14. The Irish are currently going all out against Purdue with 52-7 on the scoreboard during the 3rd quarter. With their QB Riley Leonard at the helm, the team is making quite the noise. However, aren’t we missing out on someone here?

Meet Steve Angeli. The 20 y/o backup QB, who almost became the starting QB for the Irish. With a 77% completion rate and 7 TDs, Angeli is quite new to this entire debacle but has already made significant strides. Born and raised in Westfield, New Jersey, Angeli’s love for football started young and continued to grow as he played for Bergen Catholic High School during his high school career. His parents, Janos and Stefanie, played a major role in helping him shape his career. Also, Angeli’s brothers Jack and Nick helped him become cool and collected on the turf. “His older brothers were great,” Janos had mentioned during an interview. Angeli always looked up to his brother, and they made sure the young future QB learned how to not allow things to affect him badly.

Being marked as a 3-star QB by 247Sports and a 4-star QB by ESPN, Angeli was all set to awe the fans. 2022 was when this talented youngster made his debut against UNLV. Following this, he went on to play behind Sam Hartman. However, what made fans fall in love with this guy was the skills he showcased during his first collegiate start. Back during the 2023 Sun Bowl, Angeli managed to lock in 3 TDs and got 232 yards under his belt. This allowed him to take Notre Dame to a 40-8 win. Ain’t no wonder why fans begged Notre Dame to bench Leonard and put Angeli on the field.

An acceptable request regarding Steve Angeli

Riley Leonard is currently not a hundred percent on the field. It was during the game against NIU, he sustained an injury in his shoulder. This sparked a whole discussion on the internet regarding who could be the perfect QB to replace Riley Leonard. Fans were quick to suggest Steve Angeli take up the role, however, Fighting Irish HC Marcus Freeman did not budge. “No consideration of that. We have a lot of belief in Riley,” Freeman reportedly said during an interview while talking about the fans’ demand.

The 2023 season already gave us glimpses of what Steve was capable of. Against Tennessee State, Angeli managed to complete 8 of 11 passes and grab 2 TDs, taking Notre Dame to a 56-3 win. Against Pittsburgh, he managed to lock in another touchdown and the Fighting Irish secured the game with a 58-7 win. Angeli is shaping up to become the perfect heir after Riley Leonard. Let’s keep our hopes high and wait for this guy to finally hit the turf this season.