Tag: Steve Angeli

Watch: Steve Angeli finds Eli Raridon for first score of Notre Dame’s spring game

Angeli to Raridon for the first score of the Blue and Gold game

The first few minutes of Notre Dame football’s spring game was pretty boring, but that all changed when the Blue team found the end zone.

Quarterback [autotag]Steve Angeli[/autotag], who led the Irish to an impressive win in the Sun Bowl, looks like he has picked up where he left off. He was accurate and on time with his throws, moving his team down the field.

On 3rd-and-ten Angeli made a fantastic hard count to get the defense to jump offsides. The “free play” saw the sophomore find tight end [autotag]Eli Raridon[/autotag] over the middle, who juggled the ball, got control and powered his way for the first score of the Blue and Gold game.

Big things are expect from both players, even if Angeli is expected to be Riley Leonard’s backup when the season begins.

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ESPN handicaps Notre Dame’s quarterback race heading into the spring

Leonard should win, but will he?

Notre Dame football will have a new starter at quarterback this fall, but who may seem like an obvious choice, Duke transfer [autotag]Riley Leonard[/autotag].

That might not be the case, especially considering how well [autotag]Steve Angeli[/autotag] performed in the Sun Bowl, throwing for 232 yards with 3 touchdowns, while leading the Irish offense to 40-points.

ESPN looked at some of the more intriguing spring quarterback derby’s (subscription required) and Notre Dame’s was one they looked at. Like many of us, they do think that Leonard will be the starter, but with a few caveats: health and leaning the Irish offense.

Adam Rittenberg does also leave the door open for Angeli, but “would need a significant push this spring,” to win the job.

Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

It will be very interesting to see what happens this spring, as the competition will be fierce along with CJ Carr and Kenny Minchey. Either way, Notre Dame has done a great job reloading the quarterback room and setting themselves up for the future.

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Notre Dame Football 2024 Outlook: Quarterbacks (1.0)

How does Notre Dame look at quarterback entering 2024?

Notre Dame finished the 2023 football season with three-straight wins to go 10-3, wrapping with a dominating 40-8 win over Oregon State in the Sun Bowl.

A dominating defense remains largely intact as the page now turns to 2024 but what about the offense?

We will go position-by-position this January breaking down what is lost and who returns for the Fighting Irish in 2024 – and what it all means for the season to come.

Today we look at the quarterbacks as the Irish have to replace one of the most experienced signal callers in the history of college football.  Let’s take an initial look at how the quarterback situation shapes up entering 2024 – obviously this is all possible to change at a moment’s notice given the modern day transfer portal workings.

Notre Dame Destroys Oregon State: Instant Takeaways

What a way to end 2023!

Notre Dame dominated Oregon State in every aspect of Friday’s Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl.  Some might even say the Fighting Irish closed their 2023 season by playing grrrrrrrrrreat!

Sorry, I had to.

Notre Dame stopped Oregon State quickly on the game’s opening possession and immediately marched down the field to take a 7-0 lead.  That would be rinsed and repeated for most of the afternoon to the tune of a 33-8 Notre Dame victory.

The win puts Notre Dame at 10-3 to finish the 2023 campaign while Oregon State falls to 8-5 with the loss.

Here are our instant takeaways for the final time in 2023.

Social media reacts to Jeremiyah Love’s touchdown reception

Nice moves.

It’s safe to say Notre Dame will leave El Paso, Texas as the Sun Bowl champion. How the game will conclude remains to be seen, but the have proven they aren’t giving up in the fourth quarter.

After a goal-line stand by Oregon State, the Irish’s defense took the field with the Beavers having to start on their own 1-yard line. Isaiah Newell was stopped in the end zone for a safety, although it took a reply review for those two points to officially get on the board.

Only three plays after the Irish received the safety punt, [autotag]Jeremiyah Love[/autotag] received a [autotag]Steve Angeli[/autotag] pass and moved and grooved on his way to a 13-yard touchdown:

This has not been the close game most people predicted it would be, and the Irish gladly will take that. Here’s how their fans reacted to Love finding the end zone in a cool way:

Social media reacts to Jordan Faison touchdown reception

Good job, young man.

As the Sun Bowl goes on, it appears to be more academic for Notre Dame. While the offense has had more explosive games this year, it also is benefiting from a dominant defense that has kept Oregon State in check.

Sooner or later, another Irish touchdown was going to come. That’s just what happened when [autotag]Steve Angeli[/autotag] hit [autotag]Jordan Faison[/autotag] for a 13-yard touchdown on third down, giving the Irish a 24-0 lead:

Faison has had a couple of nice catches in this game, and it hopefully is serving as an omen for how Faison can contribute in 2024 and beyond. Whether it’s Angeli, [autotag]Riley Leonard[/autotag] or someone else under center next season, Faison definitely has the tools to stand out among a receiving corps that is getting more talented every year.

We’ll see how Faison does in the future, but for now, let’s look at some of the reactions social media had to his touchdown:

Social media reacts to Jadarian Price’s touchdown before halftime

That’s how you extend a lead.

After Notre Dame’s first touchdown, the offense hit a bit of a snag. It seemed like 7-0 would stay the score at halftime of the Sun Bowl. But never say never because things have a way of working out.

Oregon State tried a fake punt on fourth down near midfield late in the second quarter, but the Irish’s defense quickly snuffed that out:

Irish fans eagerly awaited to see what their team would do starting at the Beavers’ 44-yard line. The answer was a few plays with solid gains and [autotag]Jadarian Price[/autotag] ultimately scoring a 1-yard touchdown to extend the Irish’s lead to 14-0:

Say what you will about the Irish not having every key 2023 player available, but [autotag]Steve Angeli[/autotag] and the rest of the offense have held their own so far. While it wasn’t a perfect first-half performance, it was good enough, and that was all they could ask for.

Here’s how social media reacted to Price’s score:

Social media reacts to Jayden Thomas’ touchdown on Irish’s first drive

Nice start.

Notre Dame is off and running in the Sun Bowl. After the defense forced Oregon State to punt on the game’s opening drive, the offense took over at the 4-yard line. While the Irish mostly ran the ball, [autotag]Steve Angeli[/autotag] completed a 55-yard pass to [autotag]Jordan Faison[/autotag] and also a pass for 8 yards to [autotag]Jayden Thomas[/autotag]. The latter of those passes was good for a touchdown and an early 7-0 Irish lead:

 

The Irish has shown early that they’re ready to play in spite of missing so many familiar names from this season, especially on offense. While there obviously is a lot of game to go, you can’t discount how good both sides have looked so far. Even if things somehow flip the Beavers’ way, the Irish at least can take this part of the first quarter with them.

Here are some of the best reactions to Thomas’ score on social media:

 

Riley Leonard to Notre Dame: Social media reaction to new Irish quarterback

What is Notre Dame’s ceiling with Leonard in 2024?

It had long been rumored but the longer things dragged on the more wonder that was left if Notre Dame would land Duke quarterback [autotag]Riley Leonard[/autotag] in the transfer portal.

Well, Leonard announced on Tuesday that he will be joining the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in 2024.  With that the thoughts of [autotag]Steve Angeli[/autotag] being the starting quarterback when the season opens at Texas A&M next year.

In Leonard, Notre Dame is getting a quarterback that helped lead Duke to the No. 16 overall ranking earlier this year before he got hurt late in the Notre Dame game.

As you would probably expect, social media was very much alive when Leonard announced the news.  Below is some of the best reaction:

Notre Dame quarterback Sam Hartman makes his decision on the Sun Bowl

Interesting way to make an announcement

Although the news didn’t come directly from Notre Dame quarterback [autotag]Sam Hartman[/autotag]’s mouth, the Irish social media account has let us know what will happen later this month.

It seems like Hartman is going to opt out of the Sun Bowl and backup [autotag]Steve Angeli[/autotag] will lead the Irish against Oregon State. I will admit, the first time seeing the post, I had no idea what they were implying, but thankfully, The Athletics Nicole Auerbach understood it better than I did.

In Hartman’s lone season with the Irish, he threw for 2,689 yards with 24 touchdowns and 8 interceptions. Angeli, in limited duty, completed 76% of his passes for 272 yards and 4 touchdowns against 1 pick.

The Irish are still waiting on Duke transfer Riley Leonard’s decision, but they do know who will lead the team on December 29th against the Beavers.

Update: Hartman went to his Instagram page and posted a thank you to college football and although he didn’t say he wasn’t playing, it looks like he will skip the game.

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