Notre Dame Blue-Gold game provides first look at Irish offense, quarterback depth for 2024
Two years ago, as an early enrollee freshman in his first spring game, Steve Angeli dove toward the pylon for a game-winning touchdown as time expired and was swarmed by celebrating teammates.
Since then, he saw the field in two games as a freshman, became the backup to Sam Hartman as a sophomore, and led Notre Dame to a 40-8 victory over Oregon State in the Sun Bowl in his first career start in December. Now, with quarterback Riley Leonard recovering from ankle surgery, Angeli enters this Saturday’s Blue-Gold Game having taken first-team reps this spring.
“I think football just teaches you so much about life,” Angeli said in a press conference last week. “Not every situation you go through, not everything that you experience is going to be perfect or the way you want it. But every opportunity gives you a chance to learn and grow.
“Really, my focus throughout all of this is just on myself, on my teammates, just taking every rep. It’s only my reps that matter. I focus on myself and try to do the best with what I have.”
For his part, Leonard has stayed involved with the offense despite being sidelined after surgery. After the team’s scrimmage on Saturday, head coach Marcus Freeman emphasized how much Leonard has been the architect of that continued involvement.
“He was going to challenge himself to have 100% focus on every rep, so he had the headset on, he knew every call that was going in, and he went and stepped through every single one,” Freeman said. “That’s who he’s been. He’s actually practicing a little bit more now, doing some 7-on-7, some other things.”
Leonard won’t play on Saturday, which marks the 93rd edition of the Blue-Gold game, the traditional marker of the end of spring session for Notre Dame football. Angeli is on the Blue roster, and sophomore quarterback Kenny Minchey, who played in three games last season, is a member of the Gold. Freshman CJ Carr will be in a green jersey, signifying his participation on both teams, as he makes his public debut in Notre Dame Stadium.
The tale of CJ Carr has been well-chronicled – the grandson of former Michigan head coach Lloyd Carr, and son of former Michigan quarterback Jason Carr, choosing a school that was a rival to his family’s football lineage. During a press conference on Saturday, Freeman praised Carr’s maturity, decision-making and development – with a nod to his family’s role.
“You saw the way he came in during bowl practice as a high school senior and just soaked it all in,” Freeman said. “And I guess you’ve got to give credit to his high school and his development from dad and grandpa, who are pretty knowledgeable about this game of football.
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“But he came in and he didn’t say much, he just soaked it in. He was a sponge. And now as you see him through spring, he’s progressing and getting better.”
In addition to a glimpse at three of the four quarterbacks, Saturday will also provide a first look at this iteration of the Irish offense under coordinator Mike Denbrock, who started his third stint at Notre Dame in December 2023 after most recently serving as offensive coordinator under Brian Kelly at LSU. Last week, Angeli talked about picking up a new playbook as he learns his third offense in as many years, and leaning on defensive coordinator Al Golden for advice in the process.
“He’s been around the NFL and been to a lot of places, and he told me, as things go in football, it’s kind of like nothing really changes,” Angeli said. “Just the verbiage and the scheme and the way that you attack changes, so it’s been good that I’ve been able to learn three offenses – going on my third, obviously – and new terminology. It’s fun, it’s another challenge, but having a good time learning, and really just diving into learning more about football.”
How to Watch the 2024 Notre Dame Blue-Gold Game
Date: Saturday, August 20th
Time: 1pm ET
Streaming: Peacock
