Notre Dame Fans Divided on the Quarterback Position

Riley Leonard came up with a great game against Purdue, but which QB gives the Irish the best chance to win?

Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Riley Leonard (13) breaks the tackle of Purdue Boilermakers defensive back Markevious Brown (1) Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, during the NCAA football game at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Ind. Notre Dame Fighting Irish won 66-7. / Alex Martin/Journal and Courier / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Notre Dame Quarterback Debate

Notre Dame fans have strong, varied opinions about the QB position

Many Irish fans I interact with through social media or through my radio call-in shows feel that Riley Leonard is doing a great job leading the Irish. He accounted for 100 yards rushing and three TDs against Purdue and gutted out a hard-fought win in College Station.

There is another Irish contingent though that feels Leonard is a liability passing the ball which cost the Irish against Northern Illinois and allows teams to defend Notre Dame as a one-dimensional team.

Arguments in this camp focus on the poorly thrown interception against the Huskies and the fact that Leonard has not yet thrown a touchdown pass as Notre Dame's signal caller.

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Riley Leonard has been named to the Davey O'Brien Award's Great 8 (Davey Double) for Week 3#GoIrish☘️ pic.twitter.com/GUt6QtgrXl

— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) September 16, 2024

If not Riley Leonard, who do Irish fans want to start?

While the fan base remains somewhat divided on if they want Leonard to continue to start, they also cannot agree on who they'd want to start if it isn't going to be Leonard.

Many like the way Angeli sees the field and throws the ball with ease, but Angeli comes with less mobility than Leonard and he tends to hold the ball too long in the pocket at times as well.

While Leonard and Angeli are the 2 players most talked about when it comes to the starting role, there is another entire part of the fan base that wants to go young and get the developmental track rolling on Kenny Minchey and even CJ Carr.

I'm not certain that there's a perfect solution to Notre Dame's QB situation this year, I just know that when the Irish lose the way they did, to who they did, I'm not shocked this question has arisen.

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