It was just about a year ago today that CJ Carr was named the starting quarterback for Notre Dame after a prolonged battle with Kenny Minchey. While some fans thought the quarterback battle talk was mostly lip service, Minchey showed on Saturday that he has the talent to be the starting quarterback for a Power 4 program.
After dutifully playing backup to Carr last fall, he transferred to Kentucky over the offseason (after a brief stop in Nebraska) and was named the starting QB for the Wildcats this spring. After head coach Will Stein routinely talked about how well Minchey ran the offense, the pair showed just how good it can be when the performance counts.
Minchey spent the afternoon slinging the ball all over the field against Youngstown State in his first career start and Will Stein’s debut as a head coach. Kentucky won 45-13, with a fluid offense on display. Minchey threw for 301 yards and 4 touchdowns, while not turning the ball over once. His ability to do damage with his feet wasn’t needed much against the Penguins, but he still gave a short preview, carrying the ball once for 17 yards.
While Notre Dame fans might poo-poo away a performance against an FCS opponent, it was still a historic day in Lexington. According to A Sea of Blue, the list of quarterbacks who had 300+ passing yards, four touchdown passes, a 65% completion percentage, and zero interceptions in a season opener has two names. Kenny Minchey and Tim Couch. Couch’s performance came almost 30 years ago.
Kenny Minchey’s historic Kentucky debut proves Notre Dame football had two starting-caliber QBs
Minchey’s performance was good enough that some Kentucky fans even believe he has a chance to lead the Wildcats to a win over Alabama this weekend. That’s a far cry from when he was fighting to get on the field with Notre Dame.
The dual-threat quarterback was a consensus four-star recruit, as rated by 247 Sports, ESPN, On3, and Rivals, and finished his career with 5,212 passing yards, a 63.2% completion percentage, and 53 touchdowns.
Minchey saw action in three games in his true freshman season behind starting quarterback Sam Hartman, completing two passes for 12 yards. In 2024, as a redshirt freshman, he played behind Riley Leonard but entered the game at quarterback for Notre Dame, where he made a pair of rushes for 12 combined yards, registered the first touchdown of his career with a 7-yard TD, and completed one pass for 4 yards.
Last season, Kenny Minchey saw his most extensive action as Carr’s backup, appearing in 6 games for Notre Dame, completing 20 of 26 passes for 196. He added 7 carries for 84 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
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