Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM SUMMER 2026 45 B y now, everyone has seen the no-look pass. No t re Da m e re d s h i r t sophomore quarterback CJ Carr looks to his right and rears back to throw. In the process, redshirt junior linebacker Jaiden Ausberry — following the quarterback's eyes, which is what he's supposed to do as a zone defender — moves to his left. But the ball veers over the middle, hitting redshirt sophomore wide receiver Mylan Graham in the window created by Carr's subterfuge. Graham held on through a hit by redshirt junior safety Adon Shuler, setting up a touchdown for junior running back Aneyas Williams on the next play. That's the type of Carr high- light you see. It's the accuracy. The pocket and coverage manipulation. The ag- gressiveness to hunt explosive plays. The arm talent to make every throw. The willingness to extend plays outside the pocket and keep his eyes downfield while doing so. All of these traits are why, despite a seemingly loaded quar- terback class, many project Carr to be- come a first-round pick in 2027. But as Carr's coaches and teammates will tell you, Notre Dame's biggest ad- vantage from having him at the helm isn't what you see. It's what he sees. "CJ is so good at pre-snap, just know- ing what he's seeing," redshirt senior linebacker Jaylen Sneed said. "If we have one foot up, he'll just know we're blitzing. He'll be like, 'Three, right there. Three, three, three.' I'm like, 'Damn, how did he know that?'" "He's looking for indicators, whether a guy is aligned outside, inside, a slight tilt with the inside foot, outside foot back, where are his eyes," defensive coordina- tor Chris Ash said. "He's done a great job of studying what we do on defense to get an idea of what plays work best." Carr's pedestrian Blue-Gold Game numbers — he went 7-of-15 passing for 55 yards with an interception, which came on an accurate seam ball that de- flected off his intended target's hands and into Sneed's — are, as BGI's Eric Hansen would say, a mirage. The far more in- dicative performance came during Notre Dame's "jersey scrimmage" April 18. That morning, Carr diced up Ash's defense (which was missing its top two linebackers but still expects to be among the nation's best). He constantly threw to areas where defenders weren't. He even drew them offside with a hard count, taking advantage of the ensuing free play with a chunk play to Graham. Carr had answers for everything Ash and company threw at him. And responding from a 2-of-9 start in the Blue-Gold Game with 4 straight com- pletions and a touchdown drive, after Notre Dame offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock openly criticized his and the offense's first two series on Peacock's broadcast, was an answer in and of itself. "He did a little bit of that last year, but a lot more of it this spring," Ash said. Denbrock said Carr's biggest area of growth from 2025 to 2026 is his com- mand of the offense. He was still irked by the start of the game, and Carr, a well- known perfectionist, likely was too. But the Blue-Gold Game is one practice out of 15, and the Saline, Mich., native has looked like a quarterback who will be the driving force behind Notre Dame's offensive success throughout spring ball. Denbrock called featuring a returning starter at quarterback an "incredible luxury" that he wishes happened every year. It allowed him to put more stress on his signal-caller and his offensive unit this spring, equipping them to respond to difficult situations in the fall — especially when they see a look from the defense that they haven't seen before. The third-year Notre Dame OC is pleased with what he saw this spring, particularly from Carr. "He's done an incredible job of taking command," Denbrock said. "Not only from a leadership standpoint, but making sure if we get a look that is a little frustrating for the play that we've got called, getting us into something a little bit better that gives our guys a better opportunity to be successful. "When you have that, you've got a chance to stay ahead of the chains and have a really positive offense, offensive se- ries or game or whatever it happens to be." That's something Carr's projected No. 1 running back, Williams, can ap- preciate. "Having CJ out there helps, especially in the run game," Williams said. "He's able to make checks to make the run play work, so he's a great guy to have on your side." In many ways, fifth-year head coach Marcus Freeman has staked his tenure on Carr. He was Freeman's first major re- cruiting win, all the way back in the sum- mer of 2022. While the competition with Kenny Minchey was close, Freeman's more recent comments have made it clear that Carr was always the default option. And now, Carr is his first two-year starter at the most important position in sports. Based on spring practice, Freeman's bet is set to pay off. ✦ CJ Carr 2.0 Can Take Notre Dame To New Heights Staff writer Jack Soble has covered Notre Dame athletics for Blue & Gold Illustrated since August 2023. Contact him at Jack.Soble@on3.com. OFF THE DOME JACK SOBLE Carr — Marcus Freeman's first returning starter at quarterback — is in total command of the offense in Year 2, doing things such as this no- look pass in the Blue-Gold Game. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER