"Unique Talent" - Notre Dame QB CJ Carr Receives High Praise from Freeman and Opposing Coach
- Gibson Lowenberg
- 4 minutes ago
- 2 min read
Head coach Marcus Freeman hyped his star quarterback CJ Carr ahead of the 2026 season.
Following an impressive 2025 campaign—2,741 yards on a 66.6% completion rate—CJ Carr has emerged as an early favorite to win the Heisman Trophy in his junior year. Following an offseason in which two Notre Dame running backs, Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price, were selected in the first round of the NFL Draft, Carr should see his usage increase in his second year as a full-time starter.
"He has unique talent," Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman said in an interview with ESPN's Andy Rittenberg. "He's got great arm strength, he's extremely intelligent."
He continued, "CJ has that unique trait of being an ultra-competitor. He has the potential to be one of the best quarterbacks in college football, not only this year but in my time at Notre Dame."
This is extremely high praise from a coach who has seen four opposing quarterbacks drafted first overall during his tenure with the Fighting Irish. Being compared to players such as Bryce Young and Caleb Williams is not something many players can relate to.
An opposing coach who faced Carr and the Fighting Irish agreed with Freeman, saying, "he was good. He made some big-time throws against us that I was like, 'OK, that's an NFL arm.' I was more impressed with Jeremiyah Love, but he was poised. We tried to do some things to throw him off, and he was just smart. Like, for a younger player, smart, made some really good decisions, was never flustered. His future is super bright."
With another offseason to sharpen his game, Jordan Faison dropping lacrosse to lock in on football, and a hopefully healthy Cooper Flanagan, it is easy to see how the junior QB can have another elite season.
The major question Carr and the Fighting Irish will face is whether or not their offensive line will be enough to keep pass rushers at bay. He is not the most athletic player at his position and can sometimes struggle when the pocket starts to collapse because of it.
If they can figure that weakness out, Freeman's comments on his starting QB have a good chance of coming to fruition.
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