Marcus Freeman Makes ‘Gut’ Decision In Choosing CJ Carr As Notre Dame’s Quarterback

SOUTH BEND, INDIANA – APRIL 12: CJ Carr #13 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish throws a pass during the 94th Annual Notre Dame Blue-Gold Spring Game at Notre Dame Stadium on April 12, 2025 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)

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CJ Carr hadn’t even entered his junior year of high school when he committed to Notre Dame in June 2022. Still, Carr received as much attention as any Fighting Irish recruit in recent years. Not only was he a top-ranked quarterback in the class of 2024, but his grandfather, Lloyd, was the former coach at Michigan, a longtime Notre Dame rival. Carr’s father, Jason, was a member of the Wolverines’ 1997 national title team, too.

On Sunday night, more than three years since Carr pledged to the Fighting Irish, he will throw his first college pass when he starts No. 6 Notre Dame’s season opener at No. 10 Miami. It is not surprising considering most assumed Carr would get his shot as a sophomore this season. But this summer, Carr has been in a tight competition with junior Kenny Minchey for the Fighting Irish’s starting job, a position that seemed like it would be his when Steve Angeli, last year’s backup, transferred to Syracuse in April.

Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman didn’t choose his starter until last week. He admitted during a press conference on Tuesday that it wasn’t easy. The two quarterbacks split time with the starters and were “statistically as close to any quarterback competition I’ve ever been a part of,” according to Freeman.

“I was looking for that to be the reason to make a decision, and it wasn’t clear,” Freeman said. “They were both really, really good statistically, and I just had to make a difficult decision. I had to trust my gut a little bit, what I felt like we needed going into Week One versus this opponent (and) who will be able to handle that decision the right way.”

Even though Minchey was the odd man out, Freeman made it clear he could still see some snaps this season. It’s not like the past two seasons when the Fighting Irish had veteran transfers in Sam Hartman and Riley Leonard who were the clear starters.

Carr has only appeared in one college game, taking a knee to end Notre Dame’s 66-7 victory over Purdue last September. Minchey, meanwhile, has gone 3 for 3 passing in four games over the past two seasons.

“We’re going to need both of them this year,” Freeman said. “You’re going to need both of them, and they both have to be mature enough to handle that decision and understand they’re chasing their full potential.”

For Notre Dame, it is a difficult task to open the season. Miami is coming off a 10-3 season during which the Hurricanes led the nation with 43.9 points per game but ranked 70th with 25.3 points allowed per game. Cam Ward, Miami’s starting quarterback last year, was the No. 1 pick in April’s NFL draft, but the program should be in a good spot with transfer Carson Beck, who signed a multi-million dollar deal to leave Georgia and join the Hurricanes.

Beck entered last season projected as an NFL first round pick and Heisman Trophy contender. He had thrown for more than 3,900 yards and 24 touchdowns in 2023 on a Georgia team that was undefeated and No. 1 in the nation before losing to Alabama in the Southeastern Conference championship game. But with Georgia losing tight end Brock Bowers and receiver Ladd McConkey to the NFL, Beck was not as effective last season, completing 64.7% of his passes (down from 72.4% in 2023) and throwing 12 interceptions, six more than a year earlier.

During the SEC title game last December, Beck sustained a season-ending elbow injury, forcing him to miss the Sugar Bowl, where the Bulldogs lost to Notre Dame. Beck entered his name in the NFL draft, but he later pulled out and transferred to Miami.

Beck was ranked fourth in the 247Sports transfer portal rankings this year, while Miami was third overall as a team behind LSU and Texas Tech. The Hurricanes added 19 transfers, including cornerback Xavier Lucas (No. 20 on the 247 list) from Wisconsin, defensive lineman David Blay Jr. (No. 51) from Louisiana Tech and safety Zechariah Poyser (No. 57) from Jacksonville State. The Hurricanes also have a new defensive coordinator in Corey Hetherman, who was Minnesota’s defensive coordinator last year when the Golden Gophers ranked ninth in the nation with 16.9 points allowed per game.

Notre Dame, meanwhile, returns several starters from last year’s defense that was tied for fourth with 15.5 points per game, including preseason All-American Leonard Moore at cornerback, as well as cornerback Christian Gray, safety Adon Shuler and linebackers Jaylen Sneed and Drayk Bowen. And on offense, the Fighting Irish return multiple starters on the offensive line and Jeremiyah Love, arguably the nation’s top running back.

Still, all eyes on Sunday will be on Carr, whose first career start comes in a hostile environment. Notre Dame is 0-6 in its last six road games against Miami dating to 1977 when the Fighting Irish defeated the Hurricanes, 48-10, in the regular season finale. A month later, Notre Dame defeated No. 1 Texas in the Cotton Bowl to win the national title.

The starting quarterback on that Fighting Irish team? Joe Montana, who went on to win four Super Bowls with the San Francisco 49ers and become one of the NFL’s all-time greats.

Freeman, for his part, isn’t looking for Carr to put on a vintage Montana-like performance on Sunday. Yes, Carr has been anointed a future star since committing to Notre Dame three years ago. He may grow into those lofty expectations. Freeman even raved on Tuesday about Carr’s intelligence, work ethic and confidence. Still, he knows Sunday will come down to how Carr deals with the crowd noise, the pressure and the inevitable ups and downs of a game between two top 10 teams.

“You want him to make good decisions,” Freeman said. “Every play can’t be a touchdown. Every play, it can’t be a bomb. Trust the game plan, trust what you see, be who you are and win this play.”

Freeman added: “I don’t want to put a numerical expectation on him, Be the best version of CJ Carr, make those guys around you better. That’s something that he does really well. He raises the play of those guys around him through his words, through his actions, through his competitive spirit. Be that guy and at the end of the day, just win this play, not the last one. Just win this one right in front of us.”