(Photo: Chad Ryan/Fighting Irish Preview)
In 2025, CJ Carr proved he belongs at Notre Dame. Now, he has a chance to prove he belongs among the best players in college football.
Carr threw for 2,741 yards with 24 touchdowns and just six interceptions last season while adding three rushing touchdowns. As a redshirt freshman, he showed he could make plays in big moments and deliver when Notre Dame needed him most.
Notre Dame offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock saw something else that helped separate Carr even before his breakout season.
“I like the way he processes information,” Denbrock said. “I like that he rarely makes the same mistake twice. I like that he’s continually working on his knowledge of the game and his physical attributes so that he can be better at everything that he does.”
Now the expectations are considerably higher.
Carr enters his sophomore season as the unquestioned starter with a full year of experience behind him. Notre Dame isn’t simply expected to be good this season. The Irish enter the year with legitimate national championship expectations, and if they are going to make that kind of run, Carr will almost certainly have to be a major reason why.
His development hasn’t been limited to what happens on the field. Quarterbacks coach Gino Guidugli has watched Carr grow into a leader throughout the Notre Dame locker room.
“CJ has the ability to touch everybody in the locker room,” Guidugli said. “Defensively, offensively, there’s a relationship involved with everybody. When you have that, you can confront people when they’re wrong and demand that they do it right because you’re coming from a place where there is a relationship there.”
That leadership will matter for a quarterback expected to lead a team with national championship aspirations. So will the talent surrounding him.
Notre Dame’s deep wide receiver room includes Jordan Faison, Micah Gilbert, Jaden Greathouse, Quincy Porter, Mylan Graham and Matt Jeffery, along with promising freshmen Devin Fitzgerald and Bubba Frazier. Both freshmen have generated buzz during fall camp, giving Carr even more potential weapons in an already deep group.
That gives Carr something every quarterback wants: options.
Defenses won’t be able to concentrate on taking away one receiver. If one target is covered, Carr will have opportunities elsewhere, allowing him to find favorable matchups rather than force the football. With that many playmakers around him, Carr will have plenty of opportunities to produce the kind of numbers expected from a Heisman contender.
But numbers alone won’t win him the Heisman Trophy.
Carr will also need Heisman moments.
Notre Dame faces three teams ranked in the preseason AP Poll — Miami, SMU and BYU — giving Carr opportunities to produce memorable performances against nationally ranked opponents.
A big performance in one of those games, particularly with the outcome hanging in the balance, could do more for Carr’s Heisman candidacy than piling up statistics against an overmatched opponent. Those are the games where Heisman campaigns can be made.
Carr is already receiving national recognition, earning spots on both the Walter Camp Player of the Year and Maxwell Award watch lists. More significantly, he enters the season at or near the top of the Heisman betting market.
Carr is currently the favorite or co-favorite depending on the sportsbook, with Texas quarterback Arch Manning right there with him. Other prominent contenders include Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin and wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, Miami quarterback Darian Mensah and Oregon quarterback Dante Moore.
That means Carr isn’t trying to work his way into the Heisman conversation.
He’s already in it.
The question is whether he can stay there.
For Carr, the formula isn’t complicated. Put up elite numbers. Protect the football. Produce memorable performances in Notre Dame’s biggest games. And, most importantly, lead the Irish into national championship contention.
Carr proved last season that he can be the quarterback Notre Dame needs.
This season, he gets the chance to prove he can be the best player in college football.
Great article Caleb