CJ Carr solidifies his elite status, leading a potent Irish offense. Can he elevate Notre Dame to new heights without key departed stars?
For the first time since 2020, Notre Dame will have a returning signal caller under center. Rising redshirt sophomore CJ Carr comes back to South Bend this season and is being considered one of the best quarterbacks in the country. ESPN has him ranked as the No. 1 returning starter, PFF has him in their top five and he's one of the preseason favorites to win the heralded Heisman Trophy. This is the most attention the Notre Dame quarterback position has gotten in the offseason since Brady Quinn heading into 2006.
Coming into the spring, we speculated on what the offense was going to look like with a returning starter. Would the operation be smoother? Would they be further along than where they were last season at this point? We got answers to both of those questions and then some. All offseason, players and coaches alike raved about Carr's returning presence in the backfield. This is a big year for Notre Dame, and the Saline, Michigan native will be a big driver of their overall success.
WHAT WE LEARNED
I'd be lying if I said I learned anything new about Carr this spring. It was more of a verification process of things we thought to be true back in December, January and February as we looked ahead to this season. The offense started off further along than they did compared to last spring. There was no overarching battle for the starting spot and they returned a lot of key pieces from 2025. Carr was stepping into a leadership role this season and was being handed the keys to the offense. This spring, we saw the offense take on the persona of their leader, and it was a promising sight.
There was a certain level of fire that the offense played with this spring and that's a bi-product of who Carr is as a player and as a leader. In the practices that were available to us, we didn't see anything new. The 6-2, 215-pound quarterback made spectacular throws, looked to push the ball down field and had a strong command at the line of scrimmage. The supporting cast around him is exceptionally talented and he'll be playing behind a much bigger and more athletic offensive line this season. All signs point in the direction of a big season for Carr, but there's one overarching question remaining.
REMAINING QUESTIONS
How good can Carr be in 2026? Last year, he played very, very well for a redshirt freshman. He broke the program record in passer rating and helped lead the offense to one of it's best statistical seasons in program history. They averaged 42.0 points per game which was a modern day record. They also averaged 7.3 yards per play which was No. 2 in the country and also set a modern day scoring record. But here's the reality, two of the main players who helped achieve that, Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price, are now in the NFL.
There's no question around his physical tools to be a next-level quarterback, but now in the crunch time in games, they'll be looking to No. 13 not No. 4 or No. 24 to step in a make a difference. The only remaining question for Carr is what level of greatness can he achieve? We know how good he can be, and there won't be a stage that's too big for the Michigan native. Now, it's about taking the next step as a national star and being the quarterback we know he's capable of.
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