With a proven quarterback and a stable of coordinators back, Marcus Freeman embraces unprecedented comfort and confidence for Notre Dame's promising season ahead.
For the first time since 2020, Notre Dame will have a returning starter under center. Redshirt sophomore CJ Carr returns to South Bend after a strong redshirt freshman season in 2025. The Michigan native threw for 2,741 yards, completed over 66 percent of his passes, threw for 24 touchdowns, seven interceptions and rushed for an additional three scores. Head coach Marcus Freeman sat down with On3's JD Pickell earlier this week and broke down his level of confidence knowing Carr returns.
"It's exciting," Freeman stated. "It's my first time having a returning starting quarterback along with all three coordinators returning as well. There's a level of comfort knowing who they are as people, knowing that they know the schemes, knowing who CJ Carr is and the work ethic that he puts in as well as the work our coaches put in. There's a level of confidence we have but we still have to continue to do the work."
Carr's promising first year as a starter turned a lot of heads and has started to generate hype at the quarterback position at Notre Dame we haven't seen in South Bend since Brady Quinn in 2006. Carr's currently the favorite to win the Heisman and he's been considered one of the best returning quarterbacks in college football by several outlets. But this isn't news to Freeman; he's seen this in Carr from day one.
"He's prepared," Freeman answered when asked about Carr. "From the moment he stepped on campus, he's prepared to be the starter. It's just a reflection of the way he was raised, being obviously a coach's kid and a coach's grandson. He prepares tremendously. That's the one thing you appreciate about CJ Carr is there is no finish line for him and that's what I'm excited for."
Freeman understands that there's another level for Carr to reach during his time at Notre Dame. We've seen what he can do on the field, heck, his first career touchdown pass was a no-look throw in the rain on the road against Miami, a team that played for the National Championship. This spring, Freeman hopes to see his 6-3, 210-pound quarterback take the next steps as a leader.
"The thing that you're seeing him do now is him truly let his leadership shine," Freeman explained. "He's making the guys around him better. You see him getting the wide outs, tight ends and the running backs together saying, 'Okay, we're going to throw on Saturdays at this time and you have to be there. Then they're going to watch film at this time and they have to be there. He is always looking for ways to improve."
Carr isn't on this journey alone. His offensive coordinator, Mike Denbrock, is also returning this year for his third season in South Bend. Denbrock is joined by the other two coordinators, Chris Ash on defense and Marty Biagi on special teams. For the first time in his tenure, Freeman has all three coordinators returning to his regime.
"Every year before this, I was spending time with a certain side of the ball trying to make sure we understand what the new scheme was," Freeman stated. "You're trying to figure out how we're going to script practice to get enough reps for this quarterback competition. Every year is different, but this one's different. I don't need to go spend a whole bunch of time figuring out what we're doing on offense, defense and special teams because the coordinators are back."
The expectations for this Notre Dame team in 2026 are extremely high, and it's understandable with a head coach going into year five, a trio of coordinators returning and a starting quarterback going into year two. As things stand, Notre Dame is the favorite to win the national title on places like FanDuel and the opportunity is right in front of them to go grasp.
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