Quarterback Depth: Analyzing the Loss of Kenny Minchey
- Liam Farrell
- 50 minutes ago
- 3 min read
With Kenny Minchey entering the transfer portal, Notre Dame now faces a difficult challenge in finding a reliable backup for CJ Carr.
Photo by Tyler Wong
After Notre Dame's playoff hopes came to an abrupt close this past Sunday, the Irish received news of their first portal entry: backup quarterback Kenny Minchey.
Minchey, who has displayed loyalty to the Notre Dame Football program throughout his time in South Bend, was narrowly edged out by CJ Carr during fall camp to earn the QB1 honor. With Carr emerging on the scene and establishing himself as one of the best quarterbacks in the country, the writing was on the wall for Minchey's future with the Irish.
As a prospect, Minchey was a four-star recruit in the 2023 recruiting class and was a late addition to Notre Dame after flipping his commitment from Pat Narduzzi and the Pittsburgh Panthers. Now, in the portal, Minchey will certainly be a highly sought after prospect who has shined in limited snaps with Notre Dame. This season, Minchey was 20-26 for 196 yards and a rushing touchdown.
In terms of the 2026 Notre Dame football team, Minchey's departure leaves the Irish in a precarious position. CJ Carr is clearly the quarterback of the future and will be a bonafide leader of next year's team, so the portal may be tricky waters to navigate.
In the past, a couple of respected programs added transfer portal quarterbacks to be backups. LSU signed Michael Van Buren Jr., a previous starter at Mississippi State, to be a backup to Garrett Nussmeier. Oregon signed Dante Moore to back up Dillion Gabriel for a year before taking the reins for the Ducks. Even this year, Ole Miss signed Trinidad Chambliss to be a reliable option behind Austin Simmons, and it worked to perfection as Simmons' early-season injury paved the way for Chambliss to start and ultimately, catapult the Rebels into the CFP.
It will be intriguing to see the direction Marcus Freeman and General Manager Mike Martin elect in terms of finding a reliable backup option. Will you turn to someone who has had success at a lower level, a group of five school or an FCS quarterback? Or will you look for a more talented quarterback, that maybe lacks experience, but hails from a bigger program?
Notre Dame already operates in the portal on difficult terms because of their academic requirements, mostly focusing on graduate students or freshmen, yet there have been exceptions in the past and it is a key focal point for the Irish moving forward.
Other quarterbacks that will be on the roster include Blake Hebert and Noah Grubbs, with the potential of Teddy Jarrard to reclassify as well. Knowing this, Notre Dame really doesn't know what they have in the quarterback room outside of a redshirt freshman QB that threw for 2,741 yards last season.
With that being said, Notre Dame will likely be active in the quarterback transfer portal, but in a different sense than when they were shopping for the likes of Sam Hartman and Riley Leonard. As the transfer portal window comes next month, be sure to subscribe to Tribune + to get all the latest intel on every single Notre Dame move.
Want the latest intel on Notre Dame football? Subscribe to Tribune+ and get access to recruiting and team intel from The Irish Tribune team, as well as access to our intel community, exclusive app, and more Notre Dame content: Subscribe here to support our independent journalism.
Follow The Irish Tribune on social media:
Follow @LiamFarrell_IT on X
Liked this story? Subscribe to our mailing list and get every story in your inbox.
Check out our Irish partners:
TMPR Sports - Use code "IrishTribune20" to get $20 off your officially-licensed Notre Dame pickleball paddle here!
