With the CFP National Championship Game and National Signing Day in the rear view mirror, it’s now time to look ahead toward spring-ball. For the Irish, Spring Practice will begin in March and culminate with the 94th Blue-Gold Game presented by Meijer on Saturday, April 12th.
Like every year, there will be several position battles that’ll take shape throughout the course of camp. With that said, there’ll be no battle bigger than the one under center for the Irish this spring.
Many fans and pundits across the country believe that the CJ Carr show is set to get underway in South Bend, but I believe that it’s Steve Angeli’s time to shine. Here are three reasons why Angeli will surprise in South Bend this season.
Steve Angeli was a big time recruit too
Everyone, including myself, is extremely excited to see CJ Carr at the helm for Notre Dame. After all, the Michigan native was a four-star recruit and top-100 prospect, according to 247Sports Composite. However, lest not forget that Steve Angeli was highly recruited coming out of high school as well.
According to 247Sports Composite, the New Jersey native was a four-star recruit himself back in 2022. Before signing with the Irish, Angeli fielded 23 scholarship offers from programs across the country, including several offers from perennial powerhouses — Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State, Michigan, LSU, Miami (FL), etc.
Hence, Angeli isn’t just another QB to fill out the Irish depth chart or to simply be called upon in an emergency role. Rather, Steve has the potential to succeed as Notre Dame’s starting quarterback — which, in fact, was the expectation when the Irish staff signed him four years ago.
Angeli looked the part, when given the chance
Whilst a small sample size, Steve Angeli has looked the part when given the opportunity to play for thy Gold and Blue. Over the past two season’s Angeli has connected with his receiving targets on 72.5% of his passes, thrown for 772 yards, and racked up 10 passing touchdowns to a singular interception on just 80 passing attempts. Included in these impressive stats is the 232 passing yards and 3 touchdowns display that came in Angeli’s lone start — the 2023 Sun Bowl against Oregon State.
Needless to say, it appears that Angeli is more than capable of leading the Irish offense in 2025.
Veteran presence / program experience
As aforementioned, Angeli was a part of Notre Dame’s 2022 recruiting class. Thus, the former Bergen Catholic signal-caller will be entering his fourth season in South Bend. As such, Angeli will be the unquestioned leader of the quarterback room, and I believe that he will likely be a team captain when the season kicks off from South Beach.
Unlike many student athletes these days, quarterbacks especially, Ageli is a one program man. He could have entered the transfer portal on multiple occasions in search of a quicker route to being a starting college quarterback. However, Angeli stayed in South Bend. He paid his dues, gaining experience the old-fashioned way — from the sidelines, on the practice field, in the classroom, etc.
The added asset of experience that Angeli possesses will be particularly crucial for the Irish this upcoming term as Notre Dame’s schedule is front loaded — the Irish face Miami (FL), Texas A&M, Arkansas, Boise State, and USC within the first seven games of the season.
So, all told, this Golden Domer not only has the physical tools, but also possesses the character to succeed as the starter in South Bend. I foresee Angeli leading the Notre Dame passing attack to heights that haven’t been reached since the days of when Brady Quinn was slinging the rock around to the likes of Jeff Samardzija, Maurice Stovall, and Rhema McKinght. The future for the Fighting Irish is bright with Carr, but the dawn of a new-aged passing attack is now under Angeli.