Notre Dame Notebook: Gino Guidugli Talks Sam Hartman, Steve Angeli, Navy Blitzing

Notre Dame quarterbacks coach Gino Guidugli had a lot to say about his unit during a recent press conference. We already discussed the quarterback battle between Steve Angeli and Kenny Minchey, as well as Guidugli's comments about Sam Hartman winning over the locker room.

Here are other notes from Guidugli's availability. 

Hartman In 3D(QB)

Hartman is among a growing number of quarterbacks who workout at the “3DQB” performance center in Huntington Beach, Calif. Tom Brady, Matt Ryan and Matthew Stafford are among the former NFL signal callers who have provided testimonials for the company, which incorporates things like biomechanics and mental training (among other things) to improve quarterback play.

"When I'm out recruiting a quarterback, I'm looking for a guy that mechanically is sound,” Guidugli said of his thoughts on the mesh between traditional teaching and 3FDQB’s technology integration. "I don't want to have to teach mechanics, because by the time I get you in college, you've had success throwing the football the way that you've thrown the ball, and for me to go in and try to change that, you're going to take a step backwards.

"That's who he's comfortable with, (Former Cincinnati Bearcats and current Atlanta Falcons quarterback) Desmond (Ridder) went out,” Guidugli continued. "I think he was with QB Summit and Jordan Palmer, but I'm all for those guys doing those things. I went out there and got to witness a little bit of the training, and it's biomechanics. I don't know a whole lot about biomechanics. But for those guys, I think it's more of a psychological thing. Like, ‘Hey, do you feel that?’ (If) it makes them feel good and puts them in the right frame of mind, I'm good with it.”

How Ready Is Angeli?

Hartman is firmly planted at the top of the depth chart heading into the 2023 season, but there is a battle between sophomore Angeli and Minchey for the backup role. Angeli got a handful of snaps in two games as a true freshman last season, but he is yet to attempt his first career pass. Guidugli discussed how ready Angeli would be to play in a game if his number is called this season.

"There’s a first time for everything, you know what I mean,” Guidugli asked rhetorically. "We've got talented backs and we've got a talented offensive line, but you can't just go in there and run the ball 70 times in the game. So, he’s got to be prepared to go in there and operate our offense, no different than Sam Hartman. Would our offense change? I’m sure it would change a little bit. We're going to do what Steve is best at doing, and tailor it to him, but he's got to be prepared to go in there and operate our offense.”

Game Day Roles

Guidugli gives Notre Dame something it didn’t have when Tommy Rees was still at Notre Dame – a quarterbacks coach who is not also the offensive coordinator. Rees, both the offensive coordinator and QB coach, was in the press box on game days, but with new offensive coordinator Gerad Parker, he and Guidugli will be in different game day locations.

"Gerad’s probably going to be up (in the press box), and I'll probably be down (on the sideline),” Guidugli said. "My interaction is going to be mostly with the quarterbacks. So, in between the series, I’ll get Sam on the sideline. We'll talk through the last series, talk about you know what we're anticipating, calling the next series. I'm sure there'll be a lot of communication between Gerad and I, just back and forth. That’s what I anticipate it being.”

Can They Handle The Blitz?

Navy brought pressure after pressure on then Irish quarterback Drew Pyne in the Nov. 12 meeting between the Irish and Midshipmen last season, especially in the second half after Notre Dame had built a 28-13 halftime lead. How prepared will Hartman and the Irish quarterbacks be for that on Aug. 26 in Dublin?

"Our defense has every blitz known to man, so we'll be prepared for anything that comes at us,” Guidugli joked. "All joking aside, our defense does a great job, like literally has every coverage in the book, has every blitz in the book. So, for these guys, there’s not going to be anything that they haven't seen. As a coaching staff, it's our job to put a plan in place to help those guys in those situations and the blitz you're talking about, where they line everybody up on the line of scrimmage. We’ve obviously got to have a plan for that.”