Marcus Freeman, in his first season in 2022, chose not to dip into the transfer portal for a quarterback. Instead, persisted with 4-star sophomore Tyler Buchner and 4-star junior Drew Pyne. The rest was history as the Irish finished the season 9-4, not bad in Freeman’s first year, but the QB room still lacked high-end talent, and it was time to make a move. So, Marcus Freeman, having learned from his 2022 mistakes, brought in Sam Hartman from Wake Forest on a transfer and Riley Leonard in 2024 from Duke. Leonard’s gamble ultimately paid off, and Freeman had a dream national title run last year. But what next?This year, 3 seasons matured, Marcus Freeman is once again resisting the transfer portal, this time with even higher stakes, after Riley Leonard’s departure to the NFL. Instead, the head coach relied on his QBs already within the Irish pipeline: CJ Carr and Kenny Minchey. Both QBs, while talented, haven’t seen much as a starter, and that makes it a gamble. At least, that’s what Blian Crain, in his recent ‘Crain and Company’ video, echoed.Blain asked a valid question as to what would happen if the QB room doesn’t develop, and how Marcus Freeman would then cope? “If the quarterback position doesn’t blossom, can we see this Notre Dame team be an elite defense with a subpar offense? I’ve been a part of these teams where the defense halfway through the season realizes our offense can’t score, and it just slowly eats you, even if you’re culture is really good. That’s my worry for Notre Dame.” The question is valid since the transfer portal is not an option now.CJ Carr is widely touted to be the starter for Notre Dame. Carr, being a 4-star redshirt freshman of 2024, was ranked 35th overall in recruiting rankings. Moreover, the QB has consistently shown his leadership qualities, something that runs in the family, as he is the grandson of former Michigan coach Lloyd Carr. However, the only problem is that he hasn’t thrown a college pass yet, and the only measure of his performance is high school stats (8,135 passing yards overall). However, David Cone, sitting with Blain Crain, didn’t agree with Blain’s take. David pointed to the wide receiver room being upgraded and Jeremiyah Love returning as the best running back in the country to be some of the optimistic signs that the offense won’t regress. Moreover, he also pointed out Marcus Freeman’s track record of bringing in transfer portal QBs, and this time, if he decides not to bring one, it would have been because Freeman believed in Irish’s existing QB room. “Last two years we’ve seen Notre Dame go to the portal to get one of the best quarterbacks available… I think that Marcus Freeman would have done that again if he didn’t believe in the quarterbacks that are in the room.”There are currently two sides to the coin. One that Blain echoed and the other that David relayed. Both are equally valid, but experience does matter when you are making a run for the national title. We see this with other teams who are in contention. Like Penn State with Drew Allar returning, or Garrett Nussmeier for LSU, or even Cade Klubnik of Clemson. Proven quarterbacks power serious contenders—that’s the harsh truth, and Ohio State and Notre Dame both had them last year. This year? Hopefully, the other players in the offense can support CJ Carr, but it will be tough to compete with the above-mentioned teams, especially when you have to play 16 games.QB1 spot in jeopardy for CJ Carr after Marcus Freeman’s proclamation?CJ Carr may be the presumed starter, but the QB battle between Kenny Minchey and him is still full on. We saw both the QBs performing well in spring practices, which certainly didn’t have a clear winner. Although in the final spring game, CJ Carr outperformed Minchey and passed for 170 yards, completing 14 of the 19 passes for two TDs. But even with Carr’s top-notch performance in the spring game, Freeman has declared the battle to go into the fall camp.Marcus Freeman praised both the QBs. “We have two guys that were really battling with Steve in the spring with CJ Carr and Kenny Minchey, and both did some really good things, right?” However, the head coach gave fall camp the deadline for his final call on QB1. “Our job is to say who’s going to give us the best chance to win as we get ready to face an opponent,” Freeman said. “And those questions will be answered by the quarterbacks during fall camp. And that I love, because I love competition right now.”Kenny Minchey’s performance, on the other hand, wasn’t spectacular but was still decent, with 106 yards and 8 pass completions out of 11. What this essentially means is that the QB1 spot, while still leaning towards CJ Carr, is still all Minchey’s to take. The red-shirt sophomore, too, has limited experience with college snaps, coming very sporadically. Still, it would be exciting to watch these two QBs battle it out.The post Major Doubts Loom Over Marcus Freeman’s QB Decision After Notre Dame HC’s Update on CJ Carr & Kenny Minchey appeared first on EssentiallySports.