New details emerge on why Notre Dame named CJ Carr starting QB

No. 6 Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman initially delayed naming his starting quarterback for the Aug. 31 season opener at No. 10 Miami. 

However, on Tuesday, it was learned that redshirt freshman CJ Carr would start against the Hurricanes at Hard Rock Stadium. He beat out sophomore quarterback Kenny Minchey for the job.

The Athletic's Pete Sampson provided more detail as to what might have led to Freeman waiting to name Carr the starter. 

"Although Carr’s leadership has been lauded internally from the start, his ability to protect the football had become a topic of conversation after he threw three interceptions to Minchey’s one in Notre Dame’s first practice," Sampson wrote. 

"During last weekend’s closed scrimmage to end training camp, Carr’s ability to protect the football was again an issue, leading to at least a couple interceptions. Of course, the secondary Carr and Minchey faced throughout camp may rate among the best in the nation."

While Carr committed his fair share of turnovers this summer, Freeman believes the young quarterback made better decisions throughout training camp.

“It’s about decision making," Freeman said. "Because there’s so many different aspects that go into the outcome of a play. 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.”

Last week, the Irish were leaning toward naming Minchey the starter. He seemed to be more of a natural fit for offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock, who prefers running quarterbacks like he had with Jayden Daniels at LSU and Riley Leonard in 2024.

Notre Dame believes Carr can give the offense "some dual-threat" this season. He has a better arm, which can benefit a unit where one of the strengths is at receiver.

The turnover problems are more worrisome for the Irish this year, given their early schedule. Carr has little margin for error going against two great defensive lines in Miami and No. 19 Texas A&M on Sept. 13.