Will Notre Dame Pursue a Transfer QB for 2025 or Stick with In-House Talent?

Which path leads to the highest Irish upside, recruiting a top quarterback or getting a transfer?

Oct 28, 2023; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Sam Hartman (10) pauses on the sideline in the fourth quarter against the Pittsburgh Panthers at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-Imagn Images / Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

Notre Dame's recent QB strategies

With Notre Dame being on a break for a week, it's the perfect time to pull back and look at the bigger picture with the Irish. There is no more important individual position in sports than the QB position. This one player can move the needle and impact a team's outcome more than any player in any sport.

In the last four seasons, Notre Dame had three transfer, one-year players start at QB. They are Jack Coan, Sam Hartman, and of course, Riley Leonard. The only year this wasn't the case, Tyler Buchner was the starter, but not even for 2 full games before he was lost for the year with an injury.

Has the portal strategy paid off for Notre Dame?

When opting for a one-year rental starting QB, a team is forsaking any long-term development between the rest of the team and the offense specifically, with said signal-caller. The concept is all about winning now, in the moment. That singular year. Then everyone goes their own way. A theoretically mutually beneficial relationship.

Has this way of operating worked for Notre Dame? Jack Coan had the best final record at 11-1 and Notre Dame just missed the CFP cut.

Hartman's team lost three games in 2023 and Riley Leonard's has one of the worst losses in Notre Dame history on the ledger already in 2024. Are these results worth forsaking the long-term development of the offense for?

Maybe. But maybe not.

Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard looks for an open receiver during a NCAA college football game between Notre Dame and Louisville at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in South Bend. / MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

What will Notre Dame do in 2025?

My feel of the Irish fan base suggests to me that Notre Dame fans are ready to turn to an in-house player for the starting QB role next season.

There's the belief that between Steve Angeli, Kenny Minchey, and CJ Carr, a high-level competition will be had and that the team can grow together with the winner of said competition for years.

Will the Notre Dame staff also see things this way or will they go in another direction and target the portal yet again? And if they do, how many of the players currently in the fold will leave South Bend?

This decision is critical and will have major trickle-down effects on the program. Notre Dame must carefully calculate what direction they move in next.

For more Irish news & notes follow John on Twitter @alwaysirishINC, Always Irish on Youtube and or your preferred audio podcast provider.

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