Marcus Freeman Confident In CJ Carr Ahead Of His First Career Start For Notre Dame

A week ago today, Notre Dame announced redshirt freshman CJ Carr as the starting quarterback ahead of their week one matchup against the Miami Hurricanes down in Hard Rock Stadium. Carr separated himself from redshirt sophomore Kenny Minchey towards the tail end of camp and earned the starting role. With that being said, recent history has shown us that the Irish will need multiple quarterbacks this season at one point or another over the course of the season.

"You want both guys to find a way to elevate," Freeman said about his two quarterbacks. "I believe they both did. I had to make a difficult decision. I told both of them, 'we’re going to need both of them this year'. Both guys have to be mature enough to handle that decision and understand that they’re chasing their full potential. The ultimate goal if you’re named a starter is to be the best version of you."

Nonetheless, Carr will be the starting quarterback Sunday night, and Freeman has been pleased with how the Michigan native has carried himself since he was named the No. 1 guy.

"There’s a natural human element, when you’re in competition with someone, to be hesitant to lead as the quarterback leads and to be the leader of an offense," Freeman explained. "Both of them did it in fall camp but now there’s direction; there’s no confusion on who’s going to be the quarterback to start game one. You're just are going to see that chemistry continue to build. I know the guys in our offense are confident in both quarterbacks because it was built through camp."

Carr brings a lot of valuable traits to the table as a passer and a leader of the offense. One of the things that truly separated him in the neck and neck competition with Minchey was his approach and understanding of the game.

"He’s as intelligent of a football player that you’ll be around," Freeman said about Carr. "He works extremely hard in his preparation. He’s a guy that just studies the game endlessly to find a way to improve. This isn’t saying he’s different from others, but we’re talking about CJ Carr and he’s a guy that’s very confident.

"At some point you can get a little overconfident, but you want that in your quarterback," continued Freeman. "You want the quarterback to say 'I want the ball in my hands every play when the game is on the line and I’m going to make the play and the right decision.' He has a lot of those intangibles outside of the physical skillset people see that you want your quarterback to have."

Irish fans won't have to wait long to see the type of impact the 6-3, 210-pound redshirt freshman will have on the offense. His next meaningful pass at the collegiate level will also be his first meaningful pass at the collegiate level. Carr will open his Notre Dame career against the 10th-ranked team in the country on the road Sunday night.

"You want him to make good decisions," Freeman stated when asked about what a good performance looked like. "Every play can’t be a touchdown, every play can’t be a bomb. Trust the game plan, trust what you see, be who you are and win this play. 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 he does really well: he raises the play of those guys around him, through his words, through his actions and with his competitive spirit. Be that guy."

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