SOUTH BEND, Ind. — CJ Carr grew up in a football family.
His father, Jason, was a quarterback at Michigan and his grandfather, Lloyd, led the Wolverines to a perfect season and the 1997 national championship as their head coach.
Now the younger Carr has a chance to create a new legacy for the family that grew up in college football’s winningest program — with one of the sport’s most prestigious schools, No. 6 Notre Dame.
Coach Marcus Freeman ended the quarterback competition Tuesday by selecting Carr as the starter and putting the former Michigan prep star under the spotlight in next Sunday night’s season opener at No. 10 Miami.
Carr already sounds like a natural.
“One of my strengths is understanding where to go with the ball and what the defense is doing,” he said when summer camp opened. “I think I’ve grown a lot with that since my first year here. Another strength is the relationship I have with my teammates. The quarterbacks and the coaches get all the glory, but it’s really the (offensive) line and the receivers who are out there making all the plays.”
Neither Carr nor his top competitor, Kenny Minchey, have been available to reporters since Freeman made the decision. Freeman also has not yet spoken about it.
Carr appeared in one game last year, mop-up duty in a 66-7 rout at Purdue. But he has never thrown a college pass or logged a carry.
He replaces Riley Leonard, who led the Irish to 13 straight wins last season before falling 34-23 to Ohio State in the CFP national championship game. Leonard was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in April.
Initially, some thought the more experienced Steve Angeli, Leonard’s backup in 2024, would be in the mix. But Angeli transferred to Syracuse in the spring, making it a two-man competition between Carr and Minchey.
And like so many times before, Carr won.
“It’s about decision-making,” Freeman said, explaining what factors he’d consider in making the decision. “I always say it, we’ll give the quarterback credit when things are good, we’ll blame him if things are bad. But the one thing they control is their decision-making and the ability to get everybody on the same page.”
At 6-foot-3, 210 pounds, Carr has prototypical size for a QB. He was a highly touted, strong-armed prospect coming out of Saline High School in Michigan. The scouting report also says he has exceptional accuracy and outstanding mechanics.
And while he may not be the runner Leonard was, he does, of course, have that family history. Lloyd Carr went 122-40 as Michigan’s coach from 1995-2007 and his father completed 11 of 23 passes for 114 yards with two interceptions in 20 career games with the Wolverines.
Carr outshined Minchey in the spring, going 14 of 19 with 170 yards, two TDs and one interception in the Blue-Gold Game. Minchey was 6 of 14 with 106 yards and no TDs.
But when summer camp opened, Carr struggled. He threw three early interceptions.
“That’s something I’ve struggled with in the past,” he said. “I’m a very competitive person, and when it doesn’t go your way, you just want to know why right away, and when you’re out there (on the field) and you throw a pick, it’s like you don’t have time to go out and watch the tape. You’ve got to go play the next play. And I think that’s a place I’ve grown.”
Freeman also wanted to test his young, inexperienced quarterbacks in high-pressure situations.
Carr is in only his second season on campus, while Minchey is in his third. Minchey completed his only pass last season for 4 yards, also against Purdue, and completed both of his passes for 12 yards in 2023.
Both may get one more chance to compete against Angeli, too. He was recently selected as the Orange’s starter, and Notre Dame hosts Syracuse on Nov. 22.
But what Freeman saw in camp was two improving quarterbacks, hoping to lead the Irish to their first national championship since 1988.
“The best thing I love is they’ve both gotten better,” Freeman said. “That’s the whole point of having a competition. Competition can raise the level of the people in the competition, and that’s what has happened. Both of those two have really elevated their play.”
