This is part 2 of an early look at the upcoming opponent quarterbacks that Notre Dame will face this year. If you missed it, Part 1 has reports on Texas A&M, Northern Illinois, Purdue, Miami (OH), Louisville, and Stanford. Today, we’ll break down the back half of the Irish schedule culminating in the finale at USC.

BOLD denotes returning starter

Game #7 Georgia Tech

Haynes King, Redshirt Junior
Zach Pyron, Redshirt Sophomore
Graham Knowles, Freshman
Aaron Philo, Freshman

Georgia Tech looks all set to continue with Haynes King at quarterback for 2024. The former Texas A&M Aggie transferred to Atlanta last off-season and enjoyed a fairly productive season with 2,800+ passing yards and 700+ rushing yards to go with 37 overall touchdowns. However, his 16 interceptions were a concern and the most among any Power 5 quarterback in 2023.

If not for those turnovers…

Zach Pyron is also returning in the backup role. He saw the field a little bit as a true freshman in 2022 but was limited to just 8 pass attempts last year following the arrival of Haynes.

In the portal era, the Yellow Jackets did the unthinkable and signed a pair of nearly identical 3-star quarterbacks for the 2024 class. Aaron Philo comes out of a suburb of Athens in-state while Graham Knowles comes from Texas powerhouse Southlake Carroll High School.

Game #8 Navy

Braxton Woodson, Sophomore
Blake Horvath, Junior
Luke Hutchinson, Sophomore
Karson Lopati, Sophomore
Talon Fisher, Freshman
Alex Erby, Freshman
Brady McDonough, Freshman

Navy was supposed to throw the ball a little more last year under new offensive coordinator Grant Chesnut and they did so 6.5 more times per game in 2023. However, Chesnut was fired after 1 season and the Middies have brought in former Mercer head coach Drew Cronic who will be running a ‘hybrid Wing-T offense’ according to reports.

Both veteran quarterbacks Tai Lavatai and Xavier Arline have departed after combining for 1,944 rushing yards, 2,509 passing yards, and 41 total touchdowns in their careers. Both Braxton Woodson and Blake Horvath saw time last year, each earning 1 start. However, the younger Woodson was more involved and also threw the ball more in 2023–he’s the leader in the clubhouse for Navy going into the summer.

As always, look for some of the freshmen listed above to be placed in the Naval Academy Prep School and not on the USNA football roster in 2024.

Game #9 Florida State

DJ Uiagalelei, 5th-Year Senior
Brock Glenn, Redshirt Freshman
Luke Kromenhoek, Freshman
Trever Jackson, Freshman

Florida State are hoping the final campaign for DJU pays off as the former Clemson 5-star rehabilitated his career at Oregon State last year and finds himself atop the Seminoles depth chart this summer. Through 4 seasons, he’s thrown for 8,319 yards and 57 touchdowns.

DJU has slimmed down for 2024.

Last year’s backup Tate Rodemaker transferred to Southern Miss this off-season while former 2022 recruit AJ Duffy shuffled off to San Diego State, as well. Therefore, the rest of the depth chart is pretty young.

2023 recruit Brock Glenn was thrown into the fire late last year and it didn’t go very well. He’ll be fighting off incoming top 50 recruit Luke Kromenhoek who arrived for spring with low 4-star Trever Jackson deciding to walk-on to the team this year, as well.

Game #10 Virginia

Tony Muskett, Redshirt Junior
Anthony Colandrea, Sophomore
Gavin Frankes, Redshirt Sophomore

We have a true quarterback battle going on in Charlottesville where 2023 Monmouth transfer Tony Muskett won the starting job last year but was injured so much that true freshman Anthony Colandrea ended up seeing more time and led the team with 99 more pass attempts than Muskett.

Poking around the UVA internet, it would appear most would prefer Colandrea start in 2024 although nothing has been officially announced. It would make sense as he was recruited by the coaching staff right out of high school and according to their fans Colandrea has a higher ceiling. The team also has New Mexico State transfer Gavin Frankes on campus to help fill out their depth chart.

Game #11 Army

Bryson Daily, Senior
Zach Mundell, Junior
DeWayne Coleman, Junior
Mitch Bolden, Sophomore

Army is joining the AAC this year with head coach Jeff Monken entering his 11th season with the program. This off-season, freshman Champ Harris transferred to Trinity Valley Community College after seeing the field quite a bit in 2023 for the Black Knights. Fellow freshman Larry Robinson (from Saline, Michigan where he shared time with current Irish freshman CJ Carr) also entered the transfer portal this off-season, too.

Why does Daily’s right foot look so tiny?

The program does return last year’s starter Bryson Daily who threw for 913 yards, 7 touchdowns, with 6 interceptions plus he added 901 rushing yards and 7 more touchdowns on the ground.

Former Dallas high school district 4-6A offensive MVP Zach Mundell was originally moved to running back at West Point but is back at quarterback and a dangerous playmaker. However, at just 5’9″ and 180 pounds size and durability would be an issue.

Game #12 USC

Miller Moss, Redshirt Junior
Jayden Maiava, Redshirt Sophomore
Jake Jensen, Redshirt Junior

USC is in a super weird situation at quarterback. They were supposed to be a hot destination on the transfer market with former Heisman winner Caleb Williams becoming the no. 1 overall NFL pick, but after Miller Moss’ 372 yards and 6 touchdowns in a Holiday Bowl victory, they are sticking with their backup from 2023. He has 92 career pass attempts to his name.

The Trojans did bring in a transfer this spring in the form of Jayden Maiava from UNLV. He started one season last year for the Rebels and threw for 3,085 yards with 277 rushing yards and 20 overall touchdowns.

The team didn’t sign a 2024 freshman quarterback this cycle, last year’s signee 5-star Malachi Nelson left for Boise State this past January, and the Trojans have former JUCO transfer Jake Jensen adding depth as their 3rd stringer. The program does have 5-star Julian Lewis committed for 2025, although he is taking official visits this summer.