Report: Notre Dame QB Steve Angeli entering transfer portal, making race to start a 2-man battle

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Senior quarterback Steve Angeli plans to enter the transfer portal now that Notre Dame has played its spring game, according to a published report.

The Athletic reported Angeli's plans on Thursday.

Angeli is best known for relieving an injured Riley Leonard late in the first half of January's national semifinal, leading the Fighting Irish to their first score. Leonard returned in the second half and helped Notre Dame overcome a 10-3 halftime deficit and into the national championship game with a 27-24 victory.

Notre Dame lost that game 34-23 to Ohio State.

With Leonard now a draft hopeful after exhausting his college eligibility, Angeli was in a three-way battle to win the starting job. But the competition may not have gone the way he'd hoped.

CJ Carr, a redshirt freshman from Saline, Michigan, appeared to take the lead with a stronger spring game last weekend. He went 14 of 19 with 170 yards, two touchdown passes and one interception while Angeli was 8 of 11 with 108 yards and led the offense to one score. Kenny Minchey, meanwhile, was 6 of 14 for 100 yards while running for a TD.

Angeli started one game at Notre Dame, leading the Irish to a victory over Oregon in the 2023 Sun Bowl. Leonard, a highly touted transfer from Duke, arrived shortly after that game and immediately took over as the starter.

Angeli, who is from Westfield, New Jersey, has two years of eligibility remaining.

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