How do you know you are a valuable asset for a program? When your college football program is already looking for someone to fit into your spot once you are gone. That’s the case for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback CJ Carr. Marcus Freeman has now set his eyes on the 4-star quarterback recruit Peyton Houston, a class of 2027 product. While Freeman is now losing his sleep as looming poaching alerts threaten to lock in Houston, it’s time for the head coach to focus on the present while Carr is still here.
Carr is already under a bit of pressure as The Athletic ranked Carr at No. 49 while ranking every projected starting quarterback in the FBS. Now, this is not something nice to learn about in the off-season. Here comes a morale boost for Carr. On July 21, On3 came up with a list that featured the dark horses of the Heisman race as put forward by analyst Andy Staples.
He had placed Carr with +4500 odds. Among the quarterbacks, the Notre Dame star has the highest odds, as compared to Alabama Crimson Tide’s Ty Simpson and Ole Miss Rebels’ Austin Simmons at +4000 odds. However, Baylor Bears’ Sawyer Roverstson has the highest odds at +6600, followed by Indiana Hoosiers’ Fernando Mendoza at +5500 odds. Well, after The Athletic’s rankings, nobody was expecting Carr to pick up the Heisman hype. But the tables were turned.
Carr is likely to be a threat to his contemporary quarterbacks like Garrett Nussmeier, Cade Klubnik, and LaNorris Sellers, who are the front-runners of the Heisman race. But what made Staples count so highly on Carr? On his podcast, he said that if the Notre Dame football quarterback doesn’t win the Heisman outright, he’ll at least be a finalist. “Potentially the best offensive line in the country. Jeremiah loves this team … these guys could be a top-four seed in the playoffs. If he puts up good numbers, he’s going to be in New York,” shared Staples. If spring game statistics mean anything, Carr went 14-of-19 for 170 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception.
The quarterback now stands at a crucial juncture. Recruiting services ranked him as a four-star prospect out of Saline High School in Michigan, just outside of Ann Arbor, and he is heading into his freshman season. Does he have the power to put the gridiron on fire? First things first, Carr is a blue-blooded quarterback who is the grandson of former Michigan coach Lloyd Carr, who led the program to a national championship in 1997. Second, he has already wooed 247Sports national recruiting analyst Allen Trieu. “Very cerebral player who studies the game and thinks the game. His processing speed should only get faster. Has good, classic passing mechanics and accuracy… very safe projection as a college starter based on maturity, approach, and skillset,” wrote Trieu in his scouting report. Back at high school, Carr completed 68.1% of his passes for 2,685 yards and 26 touchdowns against 5 interceptions. But isn’t the quarterback’s seat already hot?
CJ Carr backed up by a college football analyst as the key to Notre Dame’s Natty hopes.
That’s because of his predecessor, Riley Leonard. The former quarterback’s 17 rushing touchdowns in 2024 broke the Notre Dame single-season record for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback. At the end of the 2024 season, Leonard ranked second among all active FBS quarterbacks in career rushing touchdowns with 36. So, we now know how the ceiling is already high for Carr. Now, is there any reason to be concerned about Carr’s potential that would lead to Notre Dame facing a nose dive in 2024?
Analyst Greg McElroy sounded confident on The Independent podcast. He said, “Just watching the ball come off the guy’s hand (CJ Carr), it’s like all right, he’s different, and it’s no disrespect to what Riley was from an arm talent standpoint.” McElroy further noted, “ I kind of knew that if they were going to go and win the natty, and they’re going to go and compete against the top teams in college football, having that high-level ceiling quarterback is always going to be the utmost benefit, and I think CJ is probably that guy.”
However, the quarterback has to keep himself away from the noise. As he is yet to make his debut in the college gridiron, doubts loom large. As Josh Pate in his podcast shared, “I love the nucleus, love the identity of the program, so the quarterback position is going to get all the attention. Riley Leonard leaves, and typically in this sport, when you’ve got a departing quarterback and the guy who’s going to take over for him, in this case, CJ Carr, hasn’t really started.” Along with his arm strength, Carr’s calm and poised demeanor is a bonus. Can he keep his cool as the pressure mounts to follow in Riley Leonard’s footsteps?
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