Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM OCT. 17, 2026 53 I f you're nervous when Notre Dame junior quarterback CJ Carr car- ries the football, you're not alone. Even Irish head coach Marcus Freeman doesn't love the feeling of watching his star quarterback carry the football. "I'm uncomfortable every time he takes off and runs," Freeman said Oct. 5. "It's no different than your own son. You don't want to see him get hurt. You don't want to see any of the players get hurt, but especially your quarterback." An injury to Carr would certainly be costly for the Irish. His primary backup is true freshman Noah Grubbs, who has received the No. 2 game reps ahead of fellow true freshman Teddy Jarrard. The experience gap between Carr and the rest of Notre Dame's quarterbacks is tremendous. However, Carr provides value to Notre Dame's offense when he does use his legs. Excluding the 2 sacks Carr took in the first five games of the season, Carr rushed 10 times for 37 yards and 3 touchdowns in that undefeated stretch for the Irish. Carr turned 7 carries into 18 yards and 2 touchdowns on designed runs. He scrambled 3 times for 19 yards and 1 touchdown. Notre Dame needs Carr to protect himself, particularly when he scram- bles on called passing plays. Early in the third quarter of the 37-26 victory over North Carolina, Carr took a big hit to his midsection from 230-pound linebacker Peyton Seelmann after Carr scrambled for 9 yards on a first-and-10 play. Free- man told Carr on the day after the game that he'd prefer him to slide in that situ- ation, but Carr provided a reason for his decision to lower his shoulder instead: the rainy and wet conditions. "He was like, 'I had to make sure I get every yard I could,'" Freeman said. "That's CJ. He is a competitor, and he thought about the conditions. He's thinking, 'I can't slide feet first here. I'm going to get every yard because we're not able to throw the ball right now.' "I don't love it. But he's going to find a way. That's who he is. That's the com- petitor he is." The Irish will put Carr in harm's way at times. On the rare occasion he keeps the ball on a zone read, it helps keep backside defenders honest. Though Carr won't be confused with former Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard, who was a go-to option in short-yard- age situations, he has been pretty good in short-yardage situations this season. Prior to the North Carolina game, Carr either scored a touchdown or gained a first down on his 3 short-yard- age carry opportunities when all the distance required was 3 yards or less. He scored on a first-and-goal run from the 3-yard line against Michigan State and a second-and-goal run from the 1-yard line against Purdue. He also converted a fourth-and-1 with a 2-yard run against the Boilermakers. Carr's streak of short-yardage suc- cess ended against North Carolina when the Irish called his number on a third- and-goal play at the 1-yard line in the middle of the second quarter. Tight end Ty Washington whiffed on his block at the point of attack, which left defen- sive end Jaylen Harvey unblocked and prevented Carr from following the lead blocks of pulling linemen Guerby Lam- bert and Ashton Craig, along with run- ning back Jonaz Walton. Notre Dame could have tried a quar- terback sneak with Carr, but it's not something the Irish do often. The Irish did use Carr on a sneak in the season opener to help Notre Dame get away from its own goal line following a Wis- consin punt. "It's something you have to continu- ously do over and over, because it's not just the quarterback," Freeman said of Notre Dame's aversion to using a quar- terback sneak. "It's probably more so the offensive line and practicing it and getting under center for the snap. "However, getting under center is just not something we do a lot. Is it some- thing we could practice and do more? Sure. But there's only a certain amount of time in practice, and where do you want to put your effort into?" Notre Dame can pick and choose when it's asking Carr to use his legs, but Freeman admitted he's not going to be able to shut down Carr's desire to rely on his running ability when he sees an opportunity. The Irish hope opposing teams can't shut Carr down with any consistency, too. ✦ Carr has proven that he can be a scoring threat with his legs. Through five games this season, he had rushed 10 times for 37 yards and 3 touchdowns. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER Being Careful With CJ Carr Isn't Easy Tyler James has been covering Notre Dame athletics since 2011. He can be reached on X @ TJamesND FIRST AND LAST TYLER JAMES