Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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54 SEPT. 27, 2025 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED T he most profound snippet from Gino Guidugli's recent catalogue of as- sessments of who and what Notre Dame redshirt freshman quarterback CJ Carr is becoming is how he compares with the last pupil the Irish quarterbacks coach developed from scratch. Desmond Ridder, a four-year starter at Cincinnati and a third-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft who signed with the Minnesota Vikings in mid-September, flourished when the two were together at the University of Cincinnati. That included the former Rivals two- star prospect Ridder helping take down former Cincinnati and Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly at Notre Dame Stadium in 2021, 24-13, with former Bearcats de- fensive coordinator Marcus Freeman co- ordinating the Irish defense against Ridder and the Bearcats in that game for Kelly. It was also the game that kept Kelly's 12th and final Irish team out of the then- four-team College Football Playoff. "Way ahead," Guidugli said recently of Carr when comparing him to the red- shirt freshman version of Ridder. "CJ, as a passer and just his knowledge of the game, is light years ahead. Des got in and got by with his athletic ability, and grew into a passer and into an NFL quarterback. "CJ has come in and played with great poise and has command of the offense. You see it out there on Saturday. He can throw the ball with the best in the coun- try. And we just have to keep him mak- ing good decisions." The decision by Freeman to hire Guidugli has proven to be more than good for the now fourth-year Irish head coach. And a bit understated of an ad- dition. Still. He replaced the longest-tenured Irish quarterbacks coach in roughly half a century, Tommy Rees, after the latter's February 2023 departure to Alabama, ending the former Irish quarterback's six-year coaching run in South Bend. Though Rees doubled as offensive co- ordinator in the final three of those six seasons, you could make a strong argu- ment that the 42-year-old Guidugli has been an upgrade overall when it comes to influencing the QB position with the Irish. When it comes to development. When it comes to evaluations. When it comes to getting elite quarterbacks to visit the Notre Dame campus and even- tually landing them. Four-star prospects Blake Hebert (2025), Noah Grubbs (2026) and Teddy Jarrard (2027), if the latter two stick with their commitments and sign, would give the Irish five straight classes with four-star (or better) signal-callers. Guidugli also helped flip Pitt commit and former four-star prospect Kenny Minchey late in the 2023 recruiting cy- cle, starting the run of four-stars. "One of the reasons Gino is such a strong recruiter is how thorough he is," longtime recruiting analyst Tom Lem- ming offered. "He'll go anywhere to see a kid. If someone lets him know about a prospect he hasn't seen, he's always open to go check him out." Carr (2024 class) had committed to Notre Dame in June 2022, when Rees was still quarterbacks coach. But he stayed committed when Guidugli took over, and he signed with the Irish un- der Guidugli's watch. Similarly, Wake Forest grad transfer Sam Hartman in 2023 stayed at Notre Dame after Rees' departure a month after he enrolled in part because of Guidugli. And Gui- dugli's presence also factored into Riley Leonard's decision to come through the transfer portal from Duke to quarter- back the Irish last season. It was Leonard who was the first to benefit from Guidugli being reunited with current Irish offensive coordina- tor and play-caller Mike Denbrock in 2024, with the two having overlapped at Cincinnati for five seasons (2017-21). "We put the offense together at Cincin- nati," Guidugli said. "We know the ins and outs of it. He trusts me to get that guy [the QB] to see it the same way that he does. And it's just worked well together. Our offensive staff is a great group of guys. We work together and try to put the kids in the best situations that we can." And now Carr is the beneficiary, and just getting started with game No. 4 coming Saturday at Arkansas. "One of Gino's greatest strengths is the ability to take complex concepts and break them down into their simplest form," of- fered Los Angeles Chargers senior defen- sive analyst Rick Minter, a former two- time defensive coordinator at Notre Dame who recruited Guidugli to Cincinnati out of high school (2001) when Minter was the Bearcats' head coach. "But he's so much more than that. He can recruit. He's got offensive coordinator experience, so he can influence a game plan." And profoundly influence an already promising career arc for Carr. "My job as a coach is to build confi- dence in my players," Guidugli said of his coaching style. "And that's through preparation, getting them confident in what they're seeing, what our game plan is, what their reads are, but also that you are the player to go lead this offense. "You are the player that can take us where we want to go at the end of the day. You are the guy that needs to lead this team. A lot of times that comes with success. And the more success you have out there doing your job, winning games, that helps you come along as a leader. "CJ's got that natural ability in him. It's innate that he's a leader. And he's got a chance to be really good." ✦ Guidugli, who has been Norte Dame's quarter- backs coach since 2023, has excelled at evaluat- ing, landing and developing talented signal-callers. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER Gino Guidugli Is Proving To Be A Key Upgrade Eric Hansen covers Notre Dame athletics for On3, with a focus on Irish football. He can be reached on X @ EHansenND THE DEEP READ ERIC HANSEN