CJ Carr returns as a Heisman frontrunner. Will he carry Notre Dame to a national championship after a record-breaking season?
Notre Dame will have a unique situation in 2026, at least it's unique to the Irish program in recent seasons. Notre Dame will have a returning starting quarterback, something we haven't seen in South Bend since 2020. Despite the return of the starter there are still plenty of questions at the position. We kick off our depth chart overview series with a look at the quarterback position.
PROJECTED QB DEPTH CHART
RETURNING PRODUCTION
CJ Carr - 2,741 passing yards, 66.6% completions, 9.4 YPA, 14.1 YPC, 24 TD, 6 INT, 168.06 rating
WHAT WAS LOST
Backup quarterback Kenny Minchey entered the transfer portal and ended up at Kentucky, where's he expected to start next season. Redshirt sophomore Anthony Rezac also transferred and ended up signing with South Dakota State.
CARR RETURNS AS A HEISMAN FAVORITE
The redshirt freshman season for Carr was quite good, as the Michigan native set a Notre Dame program record with a 168.06 passer efficiency rating. He blew away the previous record that was set in 1949 (Bob Williams) and tied in 2009 by Jimmy Clausen. Carr was third nationally in yards per pass attempt (9.4) and fifth in passer rating last season.
The expectations for Carr are much, much higher as he heads into his second season as a starter. There is no doubt who the leader of the offense will be in 2026, and it's him. With Jeremiyah Love, Jadarian Price and Malachi Fields all off to the NFL the expectation is that Carr will now become the lead dog for the Irish offense. He'll be tasked with improving his game, being a more dominant passer and he'll be expected to carry the offense in 2026. Notre Dame is a preseason favorite to win the national championship in 2026, and the return of Carr is a big reason for that.
Carr is already one of the favorites to win the Heisman Trophy in 2026. In fact, he's tied with Texas quarterback Arch Manning for first in odds at FanDuel.
BIG SEASON FOR HEBERT
With Minchey and Rezac gone, redshirt freshman Blake Hebert is now the second most experienced quarterback on the roster. With the arrival of a pair of talented freshman he'll need to grow up in a hurry if he'll want to position himself as the heir apparent whenever Carr decides to go to the next level. Even more importantly to the immediate future, his emergence this offseason will help settle some of the concerns about what happens if Carr goes down.
Hebert is a big-armed quarterback with top-notch size and good running ability. But he arrived at Notre Dame as a very raw quarterback, which means he'll need to focus hard this offseason to grow his technical game, enhance his grasp of the offense and show he's capable of leading the team if his number is called. If he does that he'll cement himself as the No. 2, but if he doesn't he'll have a hard time holding off the talented freshmen.
TALENTED FRESHMEN READY TO COMPETE
Speaking of those talented freshman, Noah Grubbs is already on campus and Teddy Jarrard will arrive over the summer. Grubbs won Mr. Football in Florida as a senior after leading Lake Mary to a state championship. Grubbs passed for 3,250 yards and accounted for 47 total touchdowns, including 21 in the playoffs. Jarrard reclassified to the 2026 class after passing for 2,300 yards and 18 touchdowns as a junior at North Cobb (Ga.). He is a bit raw in some ways, but he has a tremendous arm and has a very high ceiling. Watching these two talented young passers battle Hebert for the "who's next" spot will be fun.
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