Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM MARCH 2026 25 2026 S P R I N G F O O T B A L L O V E R V I E W BY TYLER HORKA T here are several reasons to be compelled by what's possible for Notre Dame in 2026. Among them, there might not be a more moving development for the Fighting Irish than the situation at the most important position in the sport. CJ CARR returns for his second season as a starter. That's a simple sentence. What it means to the pro- gram, however, is so much more profound than it sounds. "I'll tell you what, I'm excited," head coach Marcus Freeman said, "because I've never been in this position where you have a returning starter at quarterback and the same offensive coordinator. That's some- thing that — the consistency with what our offensive and defensive plans will be, but also the consistency in what that quarterback position will be is really exciting. "And so you're at a different level in terms of how you go through your process. It's not teaching CJ, 'OK, here's how to become a starting quar- terback.' He knows the expectations. Now the challenge is how does he elevate and advance?" The stability that comes with the same quarterback working with the same offensive coordinator, Mike Denbrock, from one year to the next is foreign but entic- ing. When Riley Leonard went to the NFL follow- ing his one-year rental season in South Bend, which came with a 14-2 record and a run to the national championship game, so many were left wondering how much better he could have been had he gotten to go through another year in Denbrock's system. Jayden Daniels was turned into a Heisman Trophy winner in his second sea- son with Denbrock at LSU, for instance. We don't have to wonder what's possible for Carr in Year 2. We get to watch and see for ourselves. It's real life. No pinching required. "He's as talented of a player as I've ever been around, and I'm really excited about what his future holds here this season," Freeman said. ✦ QUARTERBACKS POSITION BATTLE TO WATCH WHO IS NO. 2 GOING INTO THE SUMMER? The addition of Teddy Jarrard to the 2026 re- cruiting class reshaped what everyone believed to be true of Notre Dame's quarterback hier- archy. It went from a straightforward pecking order of CJ Carr, Blake Hebert and Noah Grubbs to everything being thrown for a loop with the inclusion of Jarrard. He doesn't arrive until June, so exiting the spring as Carr's backup is paramount for depth chart placement heading into the back half of the calendar year. It's a massive spring for Hebert and Grubbs. PERSONNEL UPDATE Position Coach: Gino Guidugli (4th season) Returning Starter: CJ Carr (12 career starts) Departing Player: Kenny Minchey Returning Reserve: Blake Hebert Transferred In: None Transferred Out: Minchey to Kentucky Incoming Freshmen: Noah Grubbs and Teddy Jarrard ALL EYES ON … REDSHIRT FRESHMAN BLAKE HEBERT The competition to earn the right to be CJ Carr's backup is being labeled as wide open. If Blake Hebert has a competitive mental makeup, though, he should take offense to the optics and do everything in his power to claim the designation. He's up against a pair of true freshmen in Noah Grubbs and Teddy Jarrard who will have been in South Bend for a fraction of the time he has by the time the season rolls around. It's on him to take control of the race and leave no doubt who the next best QB is behind Carr. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER NUMBERS TO KNOW 9.4 Yards per attempt for CJ Carr in 2025. That's the fourth-best mark in Notre Dame history, and it placed him third nationally among all FBS quarterbacks last season. Carr threw for 2,741 yards, the most of any player in Notre Dame's all-time top 10 in yards per attempt. 168.1 Pass efficiency rating for Carr in 2025, the best season-long figure in Notre Dame history. He smashed the previous record of 161.4 held by Bob Williams (1949) and Jimmy Clausen (2009). Carr's rating ranked fifth among all FBS quarterbacks last season. A trio of Heisman Trophy finalists (Fernando Mendoza, Ju- lian Sayin and Diego Pavia) were among the four players with a better rating. +750 2 0 2 6 H e i s m a n Tr o - phy odds for Carr as of Feb. 3, per FanDuel Sportsbook. He's tied with Texas quarterback Arch Manning for the best odds in the country. The Irish have had four quar- terbacks win the Heisman — Angeli Bertelli (1943), Johnny Lujack (1947), Paul Hornung (1956) and John Hua- rte (1964).