'Gunslinger' Kenny Minchey flashes his 'Wow' factor for Notre Dame football this spring

SOUTH BEND — Kenny Minchey has thrown just two official passes in his Notre Dame football career, both of those going for safe, garbage-time completions last September against Tennessee State.

Yet the mere mention of the redshirt freshman quarterback around the Irish football facility this spring prompts knowing smiles and a one-word description that quickens the pulse: Gunslinger.

“Kenny is definitely a gunslinger,” sophomore wideout Jaden Greathouse said. “He can move around in the pocket and throw on the run really well.”

Quarterbacks coach Gino Guidugli used the same word when discussing the four-star prospect from Hendersonville, Tenn.

“That’s the thing about Kenny,” said Guidugli, Cincinnati’s record-setting quarterback from 2001-04. “Kenny’s got gunslinger.”

Meaning?

“There’s not a window small enough that he doesn’t think he can throw the ball through,” Guidugli said. “Gunslinger. He don’t see a pass he don’t like. You like that, but you have to harness that.”

Serious and focused:Is Jaylen Sneed ready to launch? His Notre Dame football coaches hope so

Last spring, still recovering from the dislocated throwing shoulder and bone contusion that caused him to miss more than half his senior season at Pope John Paul II High School, Minchey was more cautious on the practice field.

Now that he’s fully recovered and more comfortable in his surroundings, Minchey is letting it fly.

“Kenny can pass the football,” Guidugli said. “Kenny makes some throws, some off-balance throws, some touch throws, that every now and then you’re looking to the sideline like, ‘Wow, did y’all see that?’ “

With projected starter Riley Leonard still recovering from his second surgical procedure of 2024, Minchey has been afforded enough chances in team practice periods to flash his inner pirate.

If coaches and teammates want to call him “Gunslinger,” that’s fine with him.

“I mean, yeah, it’s a pretty comforting term to hear from people,” Minchey said. “I guess I would agree with that as far as how I make decisions and am explosive with the ball.”

Noie:Will injury setback lead to big 2024 comeback for Notre Dame football TE Mitchell Evans?

Suggest there’s a hint of Patrick Mahomes in his game, and the 6-foot-2, 209-pounder won’t run from the reference.

“A little bit, maybe,” he said with a grin.

More of a Joe Burrow fan himself, Minchey attributes that risk-taking approach to his “competitive nature.” For him, those downfield throws are about “just wanting to win” and “putting the ball in the best position to do so.”

“No Risk-it, no biscuit.” That was the career-long mantra of former NFL coach and QB whisperer Bruce Arians.

Minchey, however, turns serious when asked if checkdown throws run counter to his personality.

“Maybe at the beginning a little bit,” he said, “but I’m trying to do that a little more just because you can’t really go deep, so to speak, every play in college.”

Mike Berardino covers Notre Dame football for NDInsider.com and is on social media @MikeBerardino.