SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Steve Angeli officially left Notre Dame earlier this month when he became a graduate of the university after three-plus years at the school.
But his eventual departure became clear in April when he entered the transfer portal and signed with Syracuse a week later. Angeli’s decision came near the end of Notre Dame’s spring practices and following conversations with head coach Marcus Freeman and other Irish staff members.
It’s a decision that Freeman supports even if it means Angeli will be playing against the Irish for the Orange on Nov. 22 in Notre Dame Stadium.
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“What Steve Angeli has done for this program in his three years have been amazing,” Freeman said. “I’m a huge fan of Steve Angeli.
“We had a competition in the spring, and that competition wasn’t answered after 14 practices. You have to have honest conversations with those guys in that room. That’s what I did. At the end of the day, Steve made the decision to transfer where there was probably a better opportunity for him — nothing’s guaranteed, but a better opportunity for him to be the starter in the fall. There’s a more clear picture.
“That’s why he made that decision, and he’s graduated. There’s no hard feelings. It was sadness for me, because I love Steve Angeli as a person and a football player. But I support him, because it was the right decision for Steve.”
Angeli, who has two seasons of eligibility remaining, was part of a three-man quarterback competition at Notre Dame this spring after spending most of his three seasons as the primary backup quarterback for the Irish. Kenny Minchey, who will be a junior in the fall, and CJ Carr, who will be a sophomore, prevented Angeli from separating from the pack to win the job.
Angeli played in 21 games and started one — the 2023 Sun Bowl — during his Notre Dame career. He finished with a Notre Dame career passing line of 58 completions on 80 attempts (72.5%) for 772 yards and 10 touchdowns with one interception. He also rushed 17 times for 36 yards.
In addition to a stellar performance in starting the 40-8 victory over Oregon State in the Sun Bowl in December 2023, Angeli made a critical appearance in Notre Dame’s 27-24 win over Penn State in January’s College Football Playoff semifinal hosted by the Orange Bowl. Angeli completed six passes for 44 yards to help set the Irish up for a 41-yard field goal to end the half and cut Penn State’s lead to 10-3.
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Syracuse bringing in Angeli indicated its coaching staff believes he can be an improvement over former LSU quarterback Rickie Collins, who transferred into the program in December. Syracuse head coach Fran Brown named Collins as the program’s starting quarterback earlier in April. The Orange are looking to replace Kyle McCord, who threw for 4,779 yards and 34 touchdowns last season in his lone season with the program after transferring from Ohio State. The Philadelphia Eagles selected McCord in the sixth round of this year’s NFL Draft.
Syracuse should be pretty familiar with Angeli because quarterbacks coach Nunzio Campanile is the brother of Vito Campanile, who coached Angeli as the head coach at Oradell (N.J.) Bergen Catholic. Syracuse finished 10-3 last season in Brown’s first leading the program.
Freeman will have a first-time starter leading his offense this fall. Minchey has four career appearances in two seasons with the Irish. Carr played in one game last fall. Both have only been asked to play late in blowout victories.
That’s not limiting Freeman’s expectations for them. The two will continue to compete for the starting spot this summer and into preseason camp, which is set to begin July 31.
“They’re both high-ceiling guys,” Freeman said. “They are highly intelligent, highly talented football players. But they also lack in-game experience. There’s no substitution for that.
“And so, how do I create as many game-like situations for them in fall camp? It’s going to be really important, but I think they both are really high-ceiling guys, talented, talented. And maybe different in certain areas and in certain aspects. But when you look at the overall picture of the quarterback, they’re both really, really talented individuals.”
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