Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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10 SUMMER 2026 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED UNDER THE DOME QB2 — And Not In A Scary Way By Eric Hansen If you had to pick an MVP from the almost comically distorted Blue-Gold Game April 25 at Notre Dame Stadium, redshirt freshman Blake Hebert statistically has a pretty convincing argument (7-of-11 passing for 103 yards and 1 touchdown). Yet in reality, the 2025 scout team quarterback, who gleaned zero actual game snaps last season, is prob- ably as likely to start the 2026 season as No. 3 or 4 on the quarterback depth chart as he is to be the primary backup to returning starter CJ Carr. And that's probably the best-case scenario heading into summer workouts, which start June 8, because it reflects just how well collectively the group has pro- gressed. And that includes June-arriving freshman Teddy Jarrard, who has been eavesdropping on Notre Dame's quarterback meetings three times a week via FaceTime video calls with a shift to daily communication after his April 28 graduation from online high school classes. Early enrolled freshman Noah Grubbs made the most of his on-ramp this spring, probably providing higher peaks than Hebert, but also making the kind of freshman mistakes that he's self-aware enough not to repeat over and over. The big takeaways here are that whoever emerges, it will likely be a matter of splitting hairs among good options rather than settling for a default tolerable one as the No. 2 QB. And that the progress we saw in the spring needs to continue that trajectory, if not take a step up, over the summer and in preseason camp. Waiting Game On The Boundary By Jack Soble I like Quincy Porter. Notre Dame likes him, too, otherwise they wouldn't have paid what is surely a not insignificant amount of money to pry him away from Ohio State. But we haven't seen Porter. He missed spring practice with a knee injury that dates back to his time with the Buck- eyes, undergoing surgery around the time he entered the transfer portal. If Porter is who the Irish think he is, they're in great shape. He's a 6-foot-4 monster who can out-muscle defensive backs on the boundary, and he's dynamic enough after the catch to do even more. But if he's not, the boundary receivers who did go through spring practice didn't look like strong candidates to seize that role. The top in-house option is redshirt sophomore Micah Gilbert, and Notre Dame likes him as a backup who blocks his tail off and can play in the red zone. I have my doubts that the Irish like him as a starter. Could Notre Dame say "screw the big-bodied boundary?" If Carr loved throwing to the middle of the field, that could be a real option. However, he has some "I would like to work outside the numbers if at all possible" in him, and failing to feature a boundary receiver who can help him do that would not be maximizing his skill set. To truly get the most out of Carr, the Irish need a great player at that posi- tion. Time will tell if they have one. Point ✦ Counterpoint: WHAT IS NOTRE DAME'S BIGGEST QUESTION MARK COMING OUT OF SPRING PRACTICE? It was easy for Teddy Jarrard to mentally plug himself into the 95th Blue- Gold Game at Notre Dame Stadium April 25 instead of just absorbing it as a detached spectator, because there was nothing detached about his Notre Dame experience this past spring. Not even with most of that taking place 650 miles away at the 6-foot-3, 196-pound quarter- back's home in Kennesaw, Ga. Three mornings a week the past two months, the February signee and June soon-to-be enrollee eavesdropped on the Irish QB meetings via FaceTime video calls, slowly learning the playbook through con- ventional phone calls and working around his online classes that will complete his high school education a year early. Blue & Gold Illustrated caught up with Jarrard shortly after he returned to Georgia from South Bend with his family. BGI: What was your biggest takeaway from the Blue-Gold Game itself? Jarrard: "It's cool to see in person and actually kind of visualize myself out there. And [soon], I won't have to visualize any- more. I'll be all in." BGI: What was your impression of the Irish wide receivers? Jarrard: "I think it's a great group, and we've got some more dudes that are going to be coming here in the '27 class. I'm trying to recruit some of those guys, and I think Notre Dame is doing a great job with recruiting. They already have a great receiver room right now — just a lot of talent all around." BGI: What is your mindset as you now have high school behind you and summer workouts starting June 8 when you enroll at Notre Dame? Jarrard: "My goal is to go in and compete, give everybody a run for their money and try and do the best I could possibly do. Just focus on my job and focus on being the best I could be as a player. So, I'm not too worried about the depth chart or whatever. "I'm just going to try and learn the of- fense, first of all, and learn it to the best I possibly can and go from there. Obviously, reps are going to be important in that learn- ing process, so I'm looking forward to being able to get in there and do it live. I'm just excited to be able to compete." BGI: Do you have any second thoughts about reclassifying from 2027 to 2026? Jarrard: "Obviously, it's kind of tough giv- ing up your social life there for a minute to do online school. But I mean it was worth it for the situation I'm in. And I'm glad that it all worked out the way it did. I'm just excited to continue to keep on figuring it all out." BGI: How well do you know CJ Carr and the guys you will be competing with to be QB2, Blake Hebert and Noah Grubbs? Jarrard: "I've gotten to know all of the quar- terbacks very well, and they're great. I mean, you could tell Notre Dame recruited their quarterback room in a certain way, because we're all kind of similar in a certain way. "And then, honestly, it's a very great quarterback room to be in. There's no toxicity or anything like that. Everybody's just got a great vibe. [Quarterbacks] coach Gino [Guidugli] has got an amazing vibe. Like, it's just a good cultural quarterback room to be in." — Eric Hansen Five Questions With … FRESHMAN QUARTERBACK TEDDY JARRARD HEBERT PORTER Jarrard, who visited Notre Dame during the Blue-Gold Game weekend with his family, is looking forward to going "all in" with the Irish when he officially joins the program in June. PHOTO COURTESY GEORGIA JARRARD