At some point, Notre Dame needs to find some peace of mind should junior quarterback Drew Pyne suffer any injury. If Pyne’s helmet gets knocked off, if he sprains an ankle, if he joins the ever-lengthening list of quarterbacks with shoulder injuries across the country, the Irish (3-2) need to know freshman Steve Angeli could step in for a moment, a week, the season.
Ever since sophomore Tyler Buchner sprained his shoulder on Sept. 10 against Marshall, ending his season, Angeli has been one play away from one of the most prominent roles in sports, Notre Dame’s starting quarterback.
Favored by three scores against Stanford (7:30 ET; NBC), the same Cardinal that has lost 11 straight games against FBS opponents by an average of more than 18 points, in the familiar confines of Notre Dame Stadium, Saturday may be the moment the Irish first get Angeli some competitive snaps. Of course, they should be only so competitive.
Playing Angeli voluntarily would come only in a blowout. There is a track record to follow. Back in 2015, when Malik Zaire broke his ankle in the second week of the season, then-freshman Brandon Wimbush was suddenly in Angeli’s current position.