Florida freshman Noah Grubbs quickly acclimates to Notre Dame, eyeing the No. 2 quarterback role and embracing the challenge head-on.
Florida native Noah Grubbs will add his name to a lengthy list of first year quarterbacks at Notre Dame who elected to be an early enrollee. He joins a room featuring returning starter CJ Carr and rising redshirt freshman Blake Hebert.
Former 2027 quarterback commit Teddy Jarrard will be on campus this summer after reclassifying to the 2026 class. Grubbs walks onto campus and will be in the midst of a battle for the No. 2 quarterback spot behind Carr. It isn't very often a true freshman has that opportunity, but Grubbs understands the task at hand.
"Be consistent every day, come in and just dedicate myself to the playbook," Grubbs explained. "Obviously, it's all new to me. Coming in and making the transition as the quarterback has never been easy, but just expecting that it's going to be hard and just working through all the challenges. I'm working on building a brotherhood with all the people in the room. I think that's what I’ve done."
The culture shock of coming from high school to college hits some players harder than others. For Grubbs, the transition was relatively easy after taking so many visits to South Bend during the recruiting process. When he arrived, Grubbs was ready to hit the ground running.
"I've been here probably 15 times at least before I actually got here and enrolled," Grubbs answered when asked if there's been anything that's surprised him about the transition. "I feel like that's what's really helped me. I wasn't really shocked by anything, but I would just say going in-depth with the playbook and reads and just being a college quarterback is much different than high school."
Being on a big stage isn't unfamiliar to Grubbs, after all, he ended his high school career with a walk-off Hail Mary in the state championship game down in Florida. He's ready for his moment in South Bend and is looking to become the leader of his class.
"I'm going to wake up every day, come in and grind and lead the people around me; as well as make people around me better and keep everyone accountable." Grubbs stated when asked how a young player leads. "People see what you're doing. Maybe you're not missing reps in the weight room. Just little things like that is the way a young guy can lead."
One of the many consistencies we've seen from this freshman class is their willingness to lean on the veteran leadership in the room and surround themselves with older players. Grubbs is no exception. The 6-4, 209-pound quarterback has leaned into his time with Carr and Hebert and has learned a lot over the last month and a half.
"They've done a lot for me," Grubbs said. "That's what's really helped me in this transition. The older players like Blake and CJ have given me the wisdom since they've been in my position and been in my spot. Just everything through progression, reads, playbook-wise but even just life stuff. Just taking everything step by step."
Grubbs has an extremely bright future at Notre Dame, and it will be built around the relationships he forms in the room, on offense and on the team. He has a tremendous opportunity in front of him over the next several months of the offseason. Grubbs is a competitor, and will take the battle for the No. 2 quarterback spot head on.
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