SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Gino Guidugli wasn’t the first person to call Notre Dame sophomore quarterback Kenny Minchey a gunslinger, and he almost certainly won’t be the last.
That’s because Notre Dame’s quarterbacks coach has seen Minchey make off-balanced throws and touch throws that prompted him to ask others around him if they saw what Minchey did.
“There’s not a window small enough that he doesn’t think he can throw the ball through” Guidugli said. “Gunslinger. He don’t see a pass he don’t like. You like that, but you kind of have to harness that.”
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That gunslinger attitude probably wasn’t what led to Minchey throwing an interception to Notre Dame safety Xavier Watts that was returned for a touchdown in Saturday’s jersey scrimmage inside Notre Dame Stadium. Minchey just seemed to not be on the same page with tight end Cooper Flanagan on the play.
Earlier in the practice, Minchey scored the first touchdown of the day for the offense with a six-yard run on a play that involved multiple playfakes and an option to throw downfield. But the 6-foot-2, 209-pound Minchey read the play well and saw an opening to take himself.
He welcomes the gunslinger comparison.
"It's a pretty comforting term to hear from people,” Minchey said. “I guess I would agree with that as far as how I make decisions and am explosive with the ball."
Minchey, a former four-star recruit from Hendersonville (Tenn.) Pope John Paul II, could feel uncomfortable in his position in the quarterback pecking order at Notre Dame. He was recruited as a flipped commitment from Pittsburgh by former ND offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Tommy Rees. Guidugli is Minchey’s second quarterbacks coach with the Irish and Mike Denbrock is his third offensive coordinator in 16 months on Notre Dame’s campus.
Pushing from behind Minchey in seniority order is freshman CJ Carr, who has been with the team since Sun Bowl prep to end the 2023 season. Carr, also a four-star recruit, was actually committed to Notre Dame before Minchey was and became a driving force in ND’s 2024 recruiting class.
While Minchey could be occupied by trying to separate himself from Carr, he’s focused on shining a light on what he can do and improving upon it.
“I just feel like I'm accurate, smart with the ball, an explosive player, can make plays,” Minchey said. “Not to compare myself to anybody. I'm just trying to do my own thing and be the best version of me.”
Guidugli wants to see Minchey continue to develop as a leader and play with a sense of urgency.
“From last year to now there’s been a tremendous amount of improvement there,” Guidugli said, “and he’s going to continue to improve with the more reps he gets, so I’m happy with his development now and the way he’s throwing the football and the way he’s seeing the defense.”
Playing against defensive coordinator Al Golden’s scheme might actually be an advantage for Minchey and junior Steve Angeli, at least compared to Carr and senior Riley Leonard. As Guidugli pointed out, Minchey and Angeli actually have familiarity with some of the ways Golden may try to fool quarterbacks from practice reps during their times at ND.
Minchey feels like he’s improved with pre-snap reads this spring. That can help him unlock another level in Denbrock’s offense, because the play caller is willing to give some control to his quarterbacks to make checks and adjustments on the field.
The result? Exactly what a gunslinger wants.
"More explosive plays,” Minchey said, “because whenever we identify what we see from the defense and get us to plays that are perfect for that defense, we have more gashes and less negative plays for the offense. Just more positive plays for us."
CJ Carr’s competitive drive
Before CJ Carr went out and accounted for half of the four offensive touchdowns scored in Notre Dame’s scrimmage Saturday, Guidugli had a good sense for how advanced Carr was for an early enrolled freshman.
“He benefited tremendously from being here for bowl prep,” Guidugli said. “I think that got him accustomed to the workout schedule, the locker room, his teammates, just a lot of things you have to get out of the way to come back in January. And now he’s learning a new offense, but he got a taste for what the speed of the game is going to be during that process. And now it’s just him going out there and executing.
“As a true freshman, you’d never look out there and think, ‘OK, this guy just got here four months ago.’ He can really throw the ball. I think he has a chance to be a really special player.”
That was clear to Guidugli when Carr was still at Saline (Mich.) High and committed to the Irish. Carr has a competitive streak that he even displayed when playing basketball against Guidugli.
“He was guarding me, and I thought, ‘All right, he’ll just kind of sag off and play off.’ But like, he tried to body me up. I was like, ‘Man, I kinda like it!’ Because I didn’t know what to expect of him. He comes from a household with his brother and I’m sure those two went at it. That was the moment for me where I was like ‘OK, this dude is competitive, because he’s coming at me.’”
Carr doesn’t ease into practice either, which Guidugli learned firsthand this spring. Because Leonard was out with a foot injury, Guidugli stepped in to catch Carr’s warmup throws.
“You go in there and he’s one of those guys in warm-ups where it’s like … buckle up,” Guidugli said. “He’s going to be shooting at you pretty good.”
Handling transfer portal possibilities
Keeping four scholarship quarterbacks on a roster has become increasingly more difficult in the transfer portal era. The Irish learned that last spring when Tyler Buchner opted to transfer to Alabama. Someone from Notre Dame’s current depth chart could jump into the portal as soon as Tuesday, when the window officially opens and runs through April 30.
How does Guidugli plan for that?
“I just try to be as transparent as I can with everybody in the room,” he said. “I tell this to recruits’ parents all the time: I want to treat those guys, as a position coach, like I’d want a position coach, or a head coach, to treat my son. That’s the lens I see it through, and I think those guys trust me in that fact.
“We never have to talk about the depth chart in my room, because if you recruit guys with great character and see the world through a realistic lens, you don’t have to tell them because they know where they stand. They watch the same film. They get the grades from everybody every practice. They know where they stand. They know what they need to work on. They know what they’re better at than the other guy.
“And I tell them, it’s not you vs. him. It’s you vs. you. He has no effect on what you do with your reps when you’re in there. At the end of the day it’s like golf. It’s them vs. them. You have to go out there, you have to operate, you have to lead, but that guy — they all want to be the starting quarterback — but that guy that’s vying for the job, he has no effect on what you do with your reps, how you prepare, and what kind of energy you bring to practice every day.”
An important summer ahead
Whoever decides to stick with the Irish heading into next season will need to be ready to lead Notre Dame through summer workouts and player-led sessions. Leonard will need to catch up for lost time this spring. Angeli will need to try to prove he can start ahead of Leonard. And both Minchey and Carr can prove they deserve to be in the mix.
They better start wearing out the pass catchers on the roster.
“The summer is going to be big for all these guys,” Guidugli said. “Right now everybody is in the process of learning this new offense and learning timing with these new receivers. So the summer will be huge for us just to get spring behind us, now you have an idea of the offense and now in the summer we can work on timing all summer long. And I think in fall camp you’ll see a totally different deal.”
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