If freshman quarterback Steve Angeli manages to carve out some kind of role in the Gator Bowl, Friday in Jacksonville, Fla., he’ll be a bit of an anomaly by Notre Dame standards.
In the past 30 years, only six Irish freshmen have attempted at least one pass in a bowl game, half of them being non-quarterbacks (tight end Cole Kmet in the Citrus Bowl to cap the 2017 season, running back Justin Hoskins in the Insight Bowl in 2004, and punter Hunter Smith in the Orange Bowl in the last bowl game under Lou Holtz to end the 1995 season).
The last one to do so was recently departed QB Drew Pyne, whose brief relief appearance of Ian Book in a Rose Bowl/College Football Playoff semifinal loss to Alabama two years ago comprised a single completion for seven yards.
The other two? Current Irish offensive coordinator Tommy Rees in the 2010 Sun Bowl and Matt LoVecchio 10 seasons prior in the Fiesta Bowl, and they were the only two among the six to attempt more than two passes. Both, in fact, were starters.
Pyne’s transfer to Arizona State earlier this month and Tyler Buchner’s elongated stint on the sidelines for the final 10 games of the 2022 regular season created an opportunity for Angeli to grow significantly rather than slow cook, running the scout team offense all season.
Even though it has only translated to seven actual game reps and zero pass attempts so far heading into No. 21 Notre Dame’s clash with 19th-ranked South Carolina (8-4) at TIAA Bank Field on Friday (3:30 p.m. EST, ESPN), Angeli feels better positioned to compete for playing time in future seasons because of his role as the No. 2 QB most of the season.
“Instead of running other teams’ plays and prepping the defense playing on scout, being able to run our plays and operate our offense was huge for my development,” said Angeli, listed at option 1B on the official Irish depth chart Monday morning then officially named the backup hours later by head coach Marcus Freeman.
The expectation, all along though December was that sophomore Buchner would resume being the solid No. 1 for the Irish (8-4) in the bowl game after returning from a left (non-throwing) shoulder injury that required surgery. But whatever comes of the Gator Bowl experience itself, Angeli feels the run-up to it is win-win for his future.
“I would definitely say my football IQ and mentality,” he said of his tangible improvements. “Spending hours in the film room with Drew, taking more mental reps, it’s been huge for my development. I think I’ve really grown there.
“I think every practice is an opportunity to get better every time I step out there, being able to execute new plays and different looks. (I’ve) taken the challenge as it came and done the best I could with it.”
The challenge next spring will be trying to get meaningful reps with presumably five quarterbacks on the roster and two above him battling for No. 1. Pyne entered the transfer portal when he found out in early December the Irish intended to add a transfer QB.
Wake Forest QB Sam Hartman, potentially a sixth-year player in 2023, is a name that’s gained some traction in connection to Notre Dame in recent days, though he hasn’t yet entered the portal and was vague about his future plans after the Demon Deacons beat Missouri, 27-17, in the Gasparilla Bowl on Dec. 23 in Tampa, Fla.
Angeli, early enrollee Kenny Minchey and sophomore Ron Powlus III will all be looking to move up the depth chart.
“The big thing you have to be able to do is to watch the film, understand the mistakes you’ve made, and then translate it to the practice field and get better and execute,” the 6-foot-2, 211-pound Angeli said. “The best way is to focus on one tiny thing or one matter of fact when you’re on the field, starting to take reps, and have that in the back of your mind so you can really focus on it.
“Any guy that’s leading a team or stepping into a role, playing quarterback in college, I think you have to have extreme confidence in yourself. (Exude) that confidence to the guys around you that you’re the guy in the huddle. You’re commanding it. You have to have a little bit of (that) something to play this position.”
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