Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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62 MARCH 2026 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2026 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE BY MIKE SINGER N ews broke in early December that Kennesaw (Ga.) North Cobb quar- terback Teddy Jarrard was strongly con- sidering reclassifying from 2027 to 2026, a decision he finalized later that month. The idea of reclassifying wasn't for- eign to him when he and the Notre Dame staff began discussing it last fall. A couple of prominent Big Ten pro- grams recruiting him before he initially committed to the Irish last year pitched the idea. He turned it down with those programs before he picked the Fighting Irish on July 24, 2025. But after talking it over with the Notre Dame staff for a few weeks, Jarrard felt it was the right call. "It's going to give me a better chance to compete in 2027 if CJ Carr does go to the NFL Draft," Jarrard told Blue & Gold Illustrated. "It gives me a year un- der my belt, instead of coming in as a true freshman that year. It'll be more of a fair competition between me, Noah [Grubbs] and Blake [Hebert]. "Also, Coach [Marcus] Freeman and the staff really wanted me to do it, and I'm taking their word on it. They have my best interests in mind. I think I can develop quicker at the college level, es- pecially under Coach [Mike] Denbrock and Coach [Gino] Guidugli." T h e l i n e o f thinking certainly makes sense. Jar- rard may not have enough time to come in this sum- mer and become Carr's backup. It would be a lot to ask of Jarrard, who is already skipping a year of high school ball. In 2027, Jarrard could certainly start as a redshirt fresh- man, just as Carr did in 2025. Jarrard is a member of a two-man quarterback class along with Grubbs, a 2025 Navy Bowl All-American who enrolled in January. They met for the first time last September during Notre Dame's home matchup with Texas A&M. "I hope it's a great, friendly compe- tition," Jarrard added. "Noah and his family are great people." There are cons — even if it's just a po- tential con — to the decision to reclassify. On a personal level, Jarrard had to inform his North Cobb coaches and teammates that he wouldn't be a part of the Warriors' 2026 team. And he had similar conversations in February 2025, when he transferred out of North Cobb Christian, a move he made to get a step up in competition on Friday nights. "I've had to do this twice now. I've left two schools," he said. "They're all very hard conversations — telling your head coach you're leaving. It's very tough. I'm grateful for what both pro- grams have done for me. They have great people there, and I've met some of my best friends at both programs. It's part of the journey. It's not easy, but it's a business nowadays." A potential con is the data surround- ing quarterback reclassifications in the past several years. According to Ri- vals director of scouting and rankings Charles Power's research, just one of nine Power Four quarterbacks who re- classified as high school recruits from the 2023-26 classes have been NFL Draft picks thus far. The lone draftee was Quinn Ewers, who was picked in the seventh round of the 2025 draft by the Miami Dolphins. "Quarterbacks reclassifying has be- come more prominent in the last several cycles," Power added. "There's enough of a sample now on how the quarter- backs who reclassify pan out. It's safe to say it's spotty so far. The majority end up transferring, and you can pin it on a lack of experience and reps." Not only did the majority end up transferring, but six of those nine trans- ferred to Group of Five or FCS programs. But past data doesn't dictate what Jarrard will do at Notre Dame, nor does it mean that Power's rankings team doesn't think highly of Jarrard. 247Sports views Jarrard as a three-star prospect, while ESPN has him as a four- star but outside its national rankings. Rivals lists the 6-3, 190-pounder as the No. 18 signal-caller and No. 242 overall recruit in the land. As part of the 2027 class, Rivals ranked Jarrard as the No. 5 quarterback Teddy Jarrard Betting On Himself In Future QB Battle Jarrard is getting himself as ready as possible to compete after enrolling this summer. PHOTO BY CHAD SIMMONS/RIVALS "They have my best interests in mind. I think I can develop quicker at the college level, espe- cially under Coach [Mike] Denbrock and Coach [Gino] Guidugli." JARRARD ON RECLASSIFYING