Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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8 SEPT. 13, 2025 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY TYLER HORKA M arcus Freeman was already a well- respected head coach, and lead- ing Notre Dame to a 14-2 season and a national runner-up finish in 2024 only served to solidify him as one of the best program runners in the sport. This August, though, he did some- thing he'd never done before during his rise to becoming one of the premier head coaches in college football. He did something that all great head coaches do sometime in their illustrious careers, perhaps even more than once. He went beyond statistics and his head in naming a starting quarterback. "I just had to make a difficult deci- sion," Freeman said, "and I had to trust my gut a little bit. What I felt like we needed going into Week 1 against this opponent was who will be able to handle that decision the right way. I think all of those things played into my decision. "But that's kind of it. That's a little bit of a gray answer." His gut told him QB1, the player most fit for the season opener, was redshirt freshman CJ Carr, not redshirt sopho- more Kenny Minchey. Everyone expected plenty of gray with Carr leading Notre Dame into battle against No. 10 Miami Aug. 31. A lot of unknown. Circumstances are far from black and white when a collegiate quar- terback has everything on his shoulders for the first time ever, especially in an environment as antagonistic as Hard Rock Stadium. Nobody in their right mind said oth- erwise throughout the entire process of Notre Dame's quarterback competi- tion. Freeman didn't go down a differ- ent, more positively declarative path. "You're going to have some growing pains with any first-time starter," Free- man said. "We can't expect the quarter- back, CJ, to be perfect. We know there are some ups and downs that come with that position, that come with being a first-time starter." Now, here's where optimism does abound. Freeman said Notre Dame's quarterback competition was as close as any he's ever been a part of. That's from a statistical standpoint, too; way more than just an eye test went into reviewing every practice of fall camp. The grading procedures at programs as calculated and meticulous as Notre Dame don't leave anything to the imagi- nation anymore. If you want to know who was better on any given day, the numbers will tell you. And yet, the numbers still weren't enough to separate Carr and Minchey. That's where Freeman's imagination — and his gut — actually did come into play. He said Minchey is good enough to be Notre Dame's starting quarterback. So, given Carr is a hair ahead of his position mate, the state of Fighting Irish quar- terbacking is on solid footing — immi- nent early struggles and all be darned. "He's as intelligent of a football player as you'll be around," Freeman said of Carr. "Works extremely hard in his preparation. He is a guy that just studies the game end- lessly to find a way to improve. And this isn't saying he's different than some other guys. I'm talking about CJ Carr. UNDER THE DOME INTO THE DEEP END Redshirt freshman CJ Carr was born to be Notre Dame's starting quarterback Carr has the confidence and competitive spirit needed to embrace the role of QB1 at Notre Dame. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER