You want to believe him and all he says, believe that he’s not motivated by a possible seven-figure payout from program A, B or C, believe that he embraces the bigger picture of the place and won’t scramble from the pocket to somewhere else.
In preparation for Friday’s Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl (2 p.m. Eastern Time, CBS) against No. 19 Oregon State (8-4), now starting quarterback Steve Angeli met the media following a recent Notre Dame football practice. He settled into his seat on the second floor of the Irish Athletic Center and spoke all the right sentences.
He spoke of how he’s focused only on getting the No. 15 Irish (9-3) to 10 wins, regardless of whether that means he does a little or a lot. Of how he looks forward to competing for the starting quarterback competition in 2024 with another rent-a-quarterback. Of how he’ll worry about tomorrow and the tomorrows that follow later.
Of how this is about only the here and now. It’s not about chasing an NIL payday, not about the 2024 season, not about doing what quarterbacks do these days and leaving, not about proving anything to anybody.
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As Angeli spoke, he sounded a lot like a former Irish quarterback sounded nearly a year earlier. Sitting at the same side of that long table, albeit a few seats down, former Irish quarterback Tyler Buchner said much of what Angeli said. Sometimes, said it verbatim. About his place in the program, about the future of the position, about his future at the position. About not wanting to leave.
Buchner then left hours after the 2023 spring game faster than you could spell N-I-L. He didn’t feel it necessary to stick around with rent-a-quarterback Sam Hartman waiting in the QB wings. He knew there was one reason Hartman was headed to Notre Dame – to start.
Same can be said for Riley Leonard. Like Hartman, the former Duke quarterback likely cashed in on a seven-figure NIL payday to play for Notre Dame. To start for Notre Dame. That could affect Angeli if he let it.
He might not let it.
“The staff has been up front with me with everything that’s gone on,” Angeli said. “I knew what was coming. I’m ready to compete when that time comes, but right now, I’m just focused on winning the Sun Bowl.”
Right answer, but at some point, it won’t be about the Sun Bowl. It will be about Angeli wanting and needing to worry about Angeli. His belief that he can play as a starter — and play now. The way of the college football world has it that Angeli will have to find somewhere else to max out his college plan, and make some money, but Angeli’s not going there. Not yet.
Buchner went there, then returned to campus, where he’ll play lacrosse in spring. Fellow former starting quarterback Drew Pyne went there. He also will return to finish his degree before seeking yet another football home.
For now, and maybe for later, the portal can be the portal for Angeli.
“It’s kind of a crazy world, but I chose Notre Dame for the place; I chose it for the people,” he said. “In my heart of hearts, it’s what I believe in. It’s what keeps me grounded and staying in the moment.”
What if that moment changes? What if it says that Leonard is the starter in 2024 and Angeli is ticketed for a second season as a backup? What then?
“My biggest thing is staying in the moment,” said Angeli, who has three seasons of eligibility. “I think I’ll worry about that when that time comes.”
One more game, but then what for Angeli?
Until it does, the 6-foot-2, 211-pound sophomore is the starting quarterback at Notre Dame, a job that comes with a scrutiny and a spotlight that not everyone embraces. Being the starter for this game changes nothing for Angeli, who carried himself as the top guy all season, even though he was never the top guy.
Being the starter away from the football field is an adjustment. Angeli knew shortly after Hartman announced that he would not play in the Sun Bowl that life as the Notre Dame starting quarterback is unique.
Everybody knows you, even if you don’t know everybody. Angeli learned that while turning in his textbooks following the fall semester. Last spring, he might’ve breezed in and out of the Hammes Bookstore like just another student. Not now.
“The two ladies asked my name, and I just gave them my email and the lady kind of looked at me funny,” Angeli recalled. “She’s like ‘Are you that guy?’ I’m like yeah.”
A picture was requested. A picture was taken. Angeli was good with it. He must be good with it. That’s what comes with being the starter at Notre Dame, one of the biggest of many takeaways Angeli learned from Hartman.
“His biggest thing was being a starting quarterback is something, but being the Notre Dame starting quarterback is something different,” Angeli said. “I feel like it’s a whole lifestyle.”
That lifestyle may change for Angeli, but his approach won’t. He doesn’t view Friday as the ultimate job audition – either for Notre Dame or someone else. He views it as an extension of the work he’s put in since last spring. It’s a continuation of his growth as a quarterback, as someone who appeared in seven games and completed 76 percent of his passes this season. Someone who threw four touchdowns — one more than Leonard. Someone who showed that he can be the guy.
“What Steve has done all year has been tremendous in terms of building confidence in the coaching staff,” said head coach Marcus Freeman. “We have a lot of confidence in Steve Angeli.”
Angeli’s first career start may be important for many on the outside, but not on the inside. When he climbed aboard the Irish charter that left for El Paso on Christmas Eve afternoon, he did so with the mindset that this is just another game. It’s not HIS game. Just go play it.
“I don’t think there’s a fact that I actually have to prove something to myself,” Angeli said. “The stuff I’ve done on the field, I think it speaks (for itself).”
Angeli believes he’s a better quarterback having stayed at Notre Dame to work behind Hartman, to work with quarterbacks coach Gino Guidugli, who will serve as offensive coordinator for this game before new OC Mike Denbrock settles in, to grow as a player. He’s better at the deep ball. He’s better with accuracy. With his decision making. With his confidence and his leadership. With a rapport with his receivers. With his voice having to be to be the strongest in the huddle.
“I think I’ve taken a big step,” Angeli said.
A bigger one in west Texas awaits. The one after that? We’ll see.
Follow South Bend Tribune and NDInsider columnist Tom Noie on X (formerly Twitter): @tnoieNDI. Contact: (574) 235-6153.
No. 15 Notre Dame (9-3) vs. No. 21 Oregon State (8-4)
■ What: 90th Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl
■ When: 2 p.m. (EDT), Friday, Dec. 29
■ Where: Sun Bowl Stadium (51,500), El Paso, Texas.
■ Rankings: Notre Dame is No. 15 in the AP poll and No. 16 in the US LBM Coaches poll and CFP rankings. Oregon State is No. 21 in the AP polls, No. 22 in the Coaches poll and No. 19 in the CFP.
■ TV: CBS
■ Radio: WSBT (960 AM), WNSN (101.5 FM)
■ Line: Notre Dame is a 10.5-point favorite
■ Series: Oregon State leads all-time series 2-0
■ Last meeting: Oregon State defeated Notre Dame, 38-21, on Dec. 28, 2004 at Bank One Ballpark in Phoenix.
2023-12-28 20:14:25
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