SOUTH BEND, Ind. — On a day when Notre Dame’s two returning quarterbacks, Steve Angeli and Kenny Minchey, took most of the high-profile/high-leverage scrimmage snaps, the two newcomers at the position each found a way to make a meaningful impression.
Defense actually ruled the day at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday, a week before the Irish conclude their spring practice season with the Blue-Gold Game in the same facility — but with fans in the stands and Peacock streaming the action next Saturday beginning at 1 p.m. EDT.
All-America safety Xavier Watts had one of three interceptions made by the nation’s reigning No. 1 pass-efficiency defense and No. 5 team in total defense in 2023. He took a Minchey pass all the way into the end zone, as did cornerback Jaden Mickey with an Angeli red-zone throw.
Sophomore safety Adon Shuler also picked off Angeli.
Meanwhile, Duke transfer quarterback Riley Leonard, coming back from a second spring-semester ankle surgery, made sure he was anything but a bystander in Saturday’s “jersey” scrimmage in which the winners get to wear the preferred blue jerseys in practices for the rest of the spring and the upcoming football season.
“This is the first time since I've been here — I've been head coach — that the defense has won the jersey scrimmage,” Irish third-year head coach Marcus Freeman noted. “So, it was good to see just the competition, the competitive spirit on both sides and some guys stepping up and making some plays.”
Freshman CJ Carr was one of them. And over and over.
In fact, the 6-foot-3, 206-pound Saline, Mich., product showed a stunningly consistent combination of poise, moxie and production for a freshman while leading both the Irish No. 2 and No. 3 offenses on touchdown drives, capping one with a TD pass to fellow freshman Cam Williams and running the ball in himself after a nifty fake up the middle.
He was the only one of the three QBs who saw action on Saturday not to throw an interception.
Related Content
► Notre Dame football depth chart projection after mid-April scrimmage
► What I saw in Notre Dame's scrimmage Saturday in Notre Dame Stadium
► Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman post-scrimmage press conference transcript
► Notre Dame football WR Jayden Harrison sidelined by foot injury
► DT Tyson Ford takes personal time away from team
---------------------------------------------------------------
“CJ has been great,” Freeman said while meeting with the media after the scrimmage. “Coming in the winter, mature. Really understands offensive concepts with defensive football. Smart guy. Makes great decisions, and so I've been really impressed with him at quarterback.”
Carr, Rivals’ highest-ranked Irish QB recruit (No. 50 overall) since Gunner Kiel in the 2012 cycle, is Notre Dame’s first ultra-early enrollee. Not only is he one of the 15 who enrolled in January in time to participate in ND’s 15 spring practices, he got a special waiver from the NCAA to practice with the 2023 Irish ahead of their Dec. 29 Sun Bowl smackdown of Oregon State.
“He came in, didn’t say much,” Freeman said of Carr’s December experience. “He just soaked it in. He was a sponge. And now, as you see him through spring, he's progressing and getting better. And every time I walk by [QBs] coach [Gino] Guidugli’s office, he's in there. And that's how you improve.
“Can you retain the information that your coaches are trying to give you so that you go out and do it when it matters the most? For different people, to retain that information, it takes different things.
“But that's what you see out of CJ Carr and a lot of these young guys. They're wanting to learn it. Like, how do I figure this thing out and process it? So, now when it's out there in the stadium, I can go out there and perform. And so, he's really done a good job.”
Leonard is getting closer to being back to full football activities following March 22 surgery on the ankle he originally injured way back on Sept. 30 while playing for Duke against Notre Dame. He then had TightRope surgery in January after enrolling, but the plate inserted was causing a stress fracture. And that necessitated the second surgery.
The rising senior’s hope is to re-engage in his competition with junior Angeli this summer and in training camp to be ND’s starting quarterback this fall.
“He's actually practicing a little bit more,” Freeman said, “doing some 7-on-7s and some other things, but today we didn't want to let him go.”
It’s unlikely Leonard will play in the Blue-Gold Game, either, but he anticipates being back to 100% well before Notre Dame starts summer school in June.
On Saturday, he stood on the field for all 80-plus offensive plays behind the QB who happened to be running the offense at the time, fully engaged in how they operated against ND’s defense. He also wore a helmet, so he could hear offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock’s calls through the headset system and process them.
“That's just a reflection of who he is,” Freeman said with a big smile. “This is his idea, and 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. That's who he’s been.
“That's going to make him better. And that was my challenge, as a head coach, to him, is that, ‘Hey, what can you do — although you're physically not practicing on Saturday — what can you do to get better?’ And he showed that today.”
O-line progress report
The position group that entered spring practice season on March 7 with the most questions — the Irish offensive line — has fewer of them 11 sessions in, but there is still much to learn about its collective prowess.
What we can glean is there’s still a possibility that none of the five O-Line positions may have a starter in the Aug. 31 opener at Texas A&M who has more than four career starts on their résumé.
We also know that, barring a summer surprise, there are two reserves with a chance to overtake one of the five players who lined up with the No. 1 offense on Saturday — junior Aamil Wagner, who’s battling grad senior Tosh Baker for the right tackle spot, and senior Rocco Spindler, who will get a shot to earn a starting spot somewhere in the interior line in fall camp once he is fully recovered from a November knee injury.
Spindler has been participating in spring practice, and played with the No. 2 offense at left guard on Saturday, behind incumbent senior Pat Coogan. Last season, Spindler started the first 10 games of the season but suffered a season-ending injury in a Nov. 4 loss at Clemson.
His replacement, junior Billy Schrauth, has been one of ND’s most consistent offensive performers this spring.
Sophomore Charles Jagusah appears to have the left tackle spot locked down after making his first career start in the Sun Bowl. Junior Ashton Craig, a late-season injury replacement in 2023, has been running with the 1s all spring at center.
“We've always said we're an O-line/D-line-driven program,” Freeman said, assessing the bigger picture. “So, what do you want to see? I want to see them be able to run the ball, be able to protect the quarterback and execute the job at a high level.
“There's a couple of competitions [going on]. So, you're trying to create competition, but understanding, as an offensive unit, that you need that consistency in those five guys. So, I'm trying to get them both. But listen, I want to see them be able to run and pass the ball.”
Making a move
Three young players who have been pushing themselves into the two-deeps all spring all showed why on Saturday.
Freshman Micah Gilbert started at the boundary receiver position on Saturday, with incumbent senior Jayden Thomas held back because of a hamstring injury, but leaping over a now-healthy senior Deion Colzie.
“Micah has come in and really done a great job,” Freeman said. “He's performed at a high level, even getting some reps with the 1s at times. Now, we’ve got a couple of injuries, but he's going to do some things for us this year. I really like where he's at and where he's progressing to.”
Sophomore vyper end Boubacar Traore saw time with the No. 1, 2 and 3 defensive units on Saturday and faced the 1, 2 and 3 offenses — and was a handful for all three, including No. 1 right tackle Tosh Baker.
Grad senior Jordan Botelho took most of the first-team vyper reps and junior Junior Tuihalamaka stood out with the 2s, but Traore rotated in on both units.
“I tell Boubacar, ‘Just keep showing up.’” Freeman said. “And he keeps showing up. And that isn’t just against the 3s and the 2s. He’s showing up against the 1s. And so, that's what you want to see — that depth, that competition and those guys that can step up and make plays.”
Then there’s freshman middle linebacker Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa, who’s playing behind ascending sophomore Drayk Bowen, but who may forge a role anyway as a pass rusher in certain defensive packages.
“On third down, if it’s a passing situation, you want to get your best four pass rushers on the field, no matter what position they are on first and second down,” Freeman said. “Is he one of the top four? That’s to be determined, but he's had a heck of a spring and he's done a really good job, just from the moment he's gotten here to where he's at now. And he's going to help us this year.”
Thinking beyond the transfer portal
The spring version of the transfer portal opens on Tuesday and remains so through April 30 for underclassmen. Grad transfers aren’t subject to the NCAA’s prescribed windows, as cornerback Clarence Lewis’ Easter Break departure underscored.
Notre Dame is at 90 scholarship players, with the 85 NCAA maximum needing to be met by the time fall-semester classes start on Aug. 27. So, attrition in some form is coming.
But not necessarily surprises to the coaching staff.
“It's called having honest conversations with your players,” Freeman said. “And that's what we’ve got to do. And that's what our job as coaches is, to have honest conversations, have relationships with our players, so there are no surprises. And so, that's what we do.
“This isn't just a transfer-portal discussion. This is year-round. If you love your players and you want to see them reach their full potential, you're going to have honest conversations with them. And so I don't want it to change because there's a transfer portal [window] coming up. That's just what we should do if we're mentors, leaders to young people. We should have a relationship with them.
“And we should be honest with them and they should be honest with us, so that when they make a decision — I want to stay; I want to transfer — it's not a surprise. But that comes from having a relationship with them, which takes time and it takes investing in those young people.”
---------------------------------------------------------------
• Talk with Notre Dame fans on The Insider Lounge.
• Subscribe to the Inside ND Sports podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, SoundCloud, Podbean or Pocket Casts.
• Subscribe to the Inside ND Sports channel on YouTube.
• Follow us on Twitter: @insideNDsports, @EHansenND, @TJamesND and @cbowles01.
• Like us on Facebook: Inside ND Sports
• Follow us on Instagram: @insideNDsports
