Listed measurements: 6-foot-2 ⅜, 211 pounds.
2023-24 year, eligibility: A sophomore, Angeli has all four seasons of eligibility remaining.
Depth Chart: Angeli will spend the preseason competing with early-enrolled freshman Kenny Minchey to be Sam Hartman’s backup. The tangible edge Angeli will have is that he cannot preserve another year of eligibility, while Minchey is presumably on a four-games path.
Recruiting: Most of the Big Ten chased Angeli, including Ohio State. The New Jersey product enjoyed overtures from multiple programs in each of the Power Five conferences, even though his early commitment to Notre Dame (21 months before he could sign) somewhat tempered his recruitment.
Angeli made that commitment in March of 2021 despite being a year into a recruiting dead period due to the pandemic. He made no official visits before that pledge. And yet he did not waver, not even when the Irish told him they would look into finding another quarterback. No additional passer joined that Notre Dame class, but Angeli’s ease with the possibility stood out, nonetheless.
RELATED READING: Steve Angeli’s confidence gave Notre Dame, Tommy Rees recruiting flexibility
CAREER TO DATE
Angeli starred in the 2022 Blue-Gold Game. At least, that is how it is remembered. It would be more precise to say Angeli won the 2022 spring finale with a 10-yard touchdown scramble as the clock expired. His 11-of-17 passing for 180 yards and a touchdown was also decent enough, but not inherently revelatory. His 51-yard score was almost entirely the making of running back Jadarian Price showcasing some surprising speed.
But the game-winning tally itself instilled some confidence in Angeli. If nothing else, he had the wherewithal to get the snap off and get to the pylon.
for the win ☘️@SteveAngeli_125 | #GoIrish pic.twitter.com/6WUEpU4zbJ
— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) April 26, 2022
And that was the last worthwhile action seen from Angeli in 2022. Even though he was the No. 2 quarterback for 11 games last season, he played in just two and attempted no passes across seven snaps. The Irish coaching staff intentionally kept him on the bench in Notre Dame’s snowy 44-0 rout of Boston College on Senior Day; that meant he could play at USC and in a bowl game without jeopardizing a year of eligibility, a precaution in case another quarterback was injured.
Eventually, the NCAA created a one-year exception for bowl games costing players eligibility, so Angeli could have played in the snow against the Eagles, but the Irish had no way of knowing that in November.
RELATED READING: Steve Angeli’s, Jadarian Price’s spring star turns forecast differing Notre Dame futures
QUOTES
Notre Dame quarterbacks coach Gino Guidugli could not have been much more effusive in his springtime praise of Angeli.
“Steve Angeli has had a phenomenal spring camp,” Guidugli said in late March. “His decision-making has been great. His ball placement has been great. We have to find a way to get him more reps and continue to develop Steve. Steve has a shot to be a really good quarterback, as well.
“I’m not here just hyping everybody up, but I think all three of those guys are having a great camp. Enjoy Steve, and he’s getting better every day.”
Guidugli was not going to criticize Angeli in that setting, but his specific mention of decision-making fits in line with that 2022 spring touchdown.
WHAT WAS PROJECTED A YEAR AGO
“Notre Dame has every hope to not look to Angeli in 2022. Buchner and Pyne both logged enough snaps last season to quell any thought whatsoever of Angeli turning the starting competition into a three-passer race. He is No. 3 on the depth chart with no controversy whatsoever.
“That should lend Angeli to the scout team for some practices and to the second-string for the rest while Buchner and Pyne split the starting reps during the week. Angeli will have a chance to further adjust to the speed of collegiate defenses as well as learn Rees’ playbook. He fared relatively well in both respects in the spring, but relatively is doing some work there. By no means did Angeli look like he would be competing to be the Irish starter if either Buchner or Pyne were elsewhere.
“[Former Irish offensive coordinator Tommy] Rees knows better than anyone, though, that a freshman quarterback has to have some readiness in order for his head coach to sleep at night. If the starter suffers an injury, the third-string freshman immediately becomes the backup. That’s how Rees ended up starting four games in 2010 as a freshman, moving up from backup status when the initial injury replacement was so lackluster.
“Similarly, Brandon Wimbush lost a year of eligibility in 2015 because he needed to be ready enough to start after Malik Zaire’s ankle injury. Wimbush needed meaningful snaps to be comfortable if that “break glass” moment arrived.
“The confidence Angeli showed in leading that 10-play, 83-yard game-winning drive in the spring finale bodes well for those concerns. He would not need a much more thorough handle of the playbook to be able to serve in spot roles.
“That is a scenario the Irish would like to avoid, but it is one they need to have thought through, nonetheless.”
2023 OUTLOOK
One thought should reign supreme here: The backup quarterback started 10 games for Notre Dame last season. Of course, both Angeli and Notre Dame hope he is not forced into the starting lineup because Sam Hartman gets injured, but that possibility has to be the motivating factor for Angeli every day this preseason.
Aside from that worry of injury, Angeli’s focus will be beating out Minchey for No. 2 duties. That may not come with many stats, but it will yield more appearances as well as some intangible edge next spring when Hartman has finally ended his collegiate career.
DOWN THE ROAD
Suggesting a transfer for a sophomore on a typical timeline is inappropriate in a few ways, but at quarterback, it needs to be acknowledged.
These are players with NFL aspirations. Every one of them. Not playing for a few years dooms those dreams.
If Angeli is jumped by Minchey and/or current 2024 commit CJ Carr, then he will at least consider looking for a situation where he has a pathway to a starting gig. To some extent, these musings apply to Minchey and Carr, as well.
No position in college football sees more turnover than quarterback. It is a reality of the scarcity of available starts dueling against the need to start for multiple seasons in order to impress the NFL. Consider just the Irish passers: Two transferred out since November, another transferred in. Exhibit B: Pittsburgh quarterback Phil Jurkovec, also known as former Boston College quarterback Phil Jurkovec, also also known as former Notre Dame quarterback Phil Jurkovec.
NOTRE DAME 99-TO-0
The summer countdown begins anew, Rylie Mills to Deion Colzie
No. 99 Rylie Mills, senior defensive tackle, moving back inside from end
No. 98 Devan Houstan, early-enrolled four-star defensive tackle
No. 97 Gabriel Rubio, junior defensive tackle, one of three Irish DTs with notable experience
No. 95 Tyson Ford, sophomore defensive tackle, up 30 pounds from a year ago
No. 93 Armel Mukam, incoming freshman defensive end, former Stanford commit
No. 92 Aidan Keanaaina, a senior defensive tackle now ‘fully healthy’ after a 2022 torn ACL
No. 91 Aiden Gobaira, sophomore defensive end, former four-star recruit
No. 88 Mitchell Evans, the next starter at ‘TE U
No. 87 Cooper Flanagan, incoming freshman tight end, four-star recruit
No. 84 Kevin Bauman, senior tight end coming off a torn ACL
No. 83 Jayden Thomas, junior receiver, probable No. 1 target in 2023
No. 79 Tosh Baker, senior tackle, again a backup but next year ...
No. 78 Pat Coogan, junior interior offensive lineman
No. 77 Ty Chan, sophomore offensive tackle, former four-star recruit
No. 76 Joe Alt, first-team All-American left tackle
No. 75 Sullivan Absher, incoming freshman offensive lineman
No. 74 Billy Schrauth, sophomore left guard, likely starter
No. 73 Andrew Kristofic, fifth-year right guard, likely starter
No. 72 Sam Pendelton, early-enrolled freshman offensive lineman
No. 70 Ashton Craig, sophomore interior offensive lineman
No. 68 Michael Carmody, senior offensive lineman
No. 65 Michael Vinson, sixth-year long snapper, four-year starter
No. 64 Joe Otting, incoming freshman offensive lineman, four-star recruit
No. 59 Aamil Wagner, sophomore offensive tackle
No. 56 Charles Jagusah, incoming freshman offensive lineman, four-star recruit
No. 56 Howard Cross, fifth-year defensive tackle, multi-year starter
No. 55 Chris Terek, incoming freshman offensive lineman, four-star recruit
No. 54 Blake Fisher, junior right tackle, second-year starter
No. 52 Zeke Correll, fifth-year center, third-year starter
No. 51 Boubacar Traore, incoming freshman defensive end, four-star recruit
No. 50 Rocco Spindler, junior offensive guard
No. 47 Jason Onye, junior defensive tackle on the verge of playing time
No. 44 Junior Tuihalamaka, sophomore defensive end, former linebacker
No. 42 Nolan Ziegler, sophomore linebacker, Irish legacy
No. 41 Donovan Hinish, sophomore defensive tackle following in his brother’s footsteps
No. 40 Joshua Burnham, sophomore linebacker-turned-Vyper end
No. 38 Davis Sherwood, junior fullback/H-back, former walk-on
No. 34 Drayk Bowen, early-enrolled freshman linebacker, baseball infielder
No. 32 Spencer Shrader, South Florida transfer kicker
No. 31 Nana Osafo-Mensah, fifth-year defensive end
No. 29 Christian Gray, early-enrolled freshman cornerback coming off a knee injury
No. 29 Matt Salerno, sixth-year receiver, former walk-on
No. 27 JD Bertrand, fifth-year linebacker, third-year starter, possible captain
No. 25 Preston Zinter, early-enrolled freshman linebacker, subtle recruiting win
No. 24 Jack Kiser, fifth-year linebacker, third-year starter, most efficient defender
No. 24 Jadarian Price, sophomore RB, reportedly recovered from an Achilles injury
No. 23 Jaiden Ausberry, early-enrolled freshman linebacker, four-star recruit
No. 22 Ben Minich, early-enrolled freshman safety, four-star recruit
No. 22 Jeremiyah Love, incoming freshman running back, four-star recruit
No. 21 Adon Shuler, early-enrolled freshman safety coming off shoulder surgery
No. 20 Benjamin Morrison, sophomore cornerback, preseason All-American
No. 19 Jaden Greathouse, early-enrolled freshman receiver, Blue-Gold Game star
No. 17 Brenan Vernon, incoming freshman defensive end, four-star recruit
No. 13 Holden Staes, sophomore tight end, up 20 pounds in a year
No. 12 Penn State RB transfer Devyn Ford gives Notre Dame newly-needed backfield depth, experience
No. 4 Rhode Island transfer safety Antonio Carter gives Notre Dame desperately needed backline depth