Notre Dame football news: CJ Carr gets NFL endorsement from rival coach

CJ Carr stepped in as the Notre Dame Fighting Irish starting quarterback last season as a redshirt freshman. He flashed major potential despite the program missing out on the College Football Playoff with a 10-2 record. Heading into the 2026-27 campaign, it sounds like Carr at least caught the attention of Notre Dame’s rivals.

An unnamed rival coach of the Fighting Irish admitted that the soon-to-be redshirt sophomore displayed NFL-level talent last season, according to Adam Rittenberg of ESPN. The anonymous coach claimed that Carr surprised him when facing off against Notre Dame in the 2025-26 season.

“He was good,” said the unnamed coach about Carr. “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.”

CJ Carr’s passing opportunities were a bit limited last season, as the offense relied heavily on running back Jeremiyah Love. However, Love was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals this offseason, along with Jadarian Price. So, Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman may open up the playbook a bit more and allow Carr to throw the ball more often next season.

Carr only had 293 pass attempts in his first year as a starting quarterback. He ended last season with 2,741 passing yards and 24 touchdowns while completing 66.6% of his pass attempts. CJ Carr did a great job of protecting the ball as well, as he only threw six interceptions.

Notre Dame fans will see Carr in action for the Week 1 home opener against the Wisconsin Badgers. All eyes will be on CJ Carr, as an improved season could be what gets the Fighting Irish back into the playoffs.