Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM APRIL/MAY 2026 11 UNDER THE DOME Irish On Social Media No. 8 Was where ESPN ranked Notre Dame on its list of the 25 best newcomer classes — recruits and transfers — of 2026. From an efficiency standpoint, nobody had a cleaner cycle than Notre Dame. There are seven signees, all of whom waited until at least Jan. 10 to announce publicly, and six of them rate as a four- star transfer. Quiet (mostly), smooth and effective. … Throw in the fact the Irish did not lose a starter in the portal, and it was a breezy cycle in South Bend." — Chris Hummer of CBS Sports on listing Notre Dame among his winners of the 2026 college football transfer portal He's an incredible leader. I've never seen someone prepare so well. He works his butt off. And the way he throws the ball, the ball place- ment is perfect. And he's got all the potential in the world to be the No. 1 overall pick. It was such a blessing to play with him this year." — Former Fighting Irish tight end Eli Raridon on redshirt sophomore quarterback CJ Carr No. 1 Was where ESPN's Bill Connelly ranked Notre Dame redshirt sophomore CJ Carr among all 68 Power Four quarterbacks heading into the 2026 season. "He sort of looked like a redshirt freshman against Miami in Week 1 of last season, but that was about it," Connelly noted. "He fell just short of leading a comeback win against the Hurricanes, then pretty much torched all other opposition. "Sure, he had a spectacular run game at his dis- posal — Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price combined for 2,046 yards and 29 touchdowns (and are both gone now) — but Notre Dame ranked first nationally in third-and-long success rate (7 or more yards to go). When Carr had to make a throw, he did so. … "He's accurate, he has a big arm, and by the end of 2025 he was one of the most reliable passers in the sport." If you're looking for a sleeper candi- date to jump up draft boards in a 2027 quarterback class that could include [Arch] Manning, Dante Moore, [Sam] Leavitt and [Brendan] Sorsby — I'd bet [CJ] Carr. … "In 2026, Carr will benefit from playing behind one of the nation's top offensive lines. His role within the offense will also increase with the departure of running backs Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price. Add a very friendly sched- ule, and Carr has all the ingredients to emerge as a superstar." — Brad Crawford of CBS Sports on Notre Dame redshirt sophomore quarterback CJ Carr being among his 13 budding superstars college football insiders expect to take the sport by storm in 2026 +700 +700 Opening odds for Notre Dame quarter- back CJ CARR to win the 2026 Heisman Trophy, per BetMGM in Febru- ary, just ahead of Texas quarterback Arch Man- ning (+800). Oregon quarterback Dante Moore (+1100), Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin (+1200) and Indiana quarterback Josh Hoover (+1200) rounded out the top five. Prior to Carr, no Notre Dame player had been a preseason Heisman favorite since at least 2009, which is as far back as the Sports Odds History database goes. Wide receiver Tim Brown was the last Fighting Irish player to take home the prestigious award, win- ning it in 1987. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER