Five thoughts on Notre Dame selecting CJ Carr as its starting quarterback

USA Today

a day ago

Notre Dame football made a massive announcement on Tuesday afternoon, as its named CJ Carr as the starting quarterback.
The redshirt-freshman beat out redshirt-sophomore Kenny Minchey, in a battle that seems almost too close to call. Sunday's scrimmage looks like the tipping point for the Irish coaching staff, as they used Monday to review the film and make a decision.
With the choice finally being made, there was plenty of thoughts that flowed through my head about the decision. Here are five thoughts on Notre Dame selecting CJ Carr as its starting quarterback against Miami.
This competition might not be over
While Carr was named the starter on Tuesday, this competition might not be over. Minchey is talented as well, and if his teammate struggles out of the gate, Freeman might just make a move to insert him into the lineup. There have been multiple practice reports that have Carr throwing interceptions, but as the coaches have said, it's not always the quarterbacks fault. However, if he throws a few in the opener against Miami, Freeman might have to make a change.
Going with the higher-ceiling Carr makes sense
I've always been in the camp that even if a players floor isn't the same, if his ceiling is higher, you go with that guy which is what Notre Dame chose to do. Carr gives the offense a much better shot at putting up points, but that is no knock on Minchey, would could as well. It's just that as the higher rated prospect coming out of high school, many had Carr as the better prospect, with a brighter future.
Finally a home-grown quarterback
After not having had a home-grown quarterback for the last three of the last four seasons, the Irish finally have one is Carr. They've gone through Jack Coan, Sam Hartman and Riley Leonard, having passed up on the recruited players for transfers. This year was always going to be much different, as Freeman opted to not bring in a veteran from the portal. It's a selling point for recruits as well, as they now know, they can win the job and not get passed up by a new face into the program.
Living through some growing pains
Don't expect the Irish offense to be a finished product early, in fact it might be a bit rocky early on. The good news is that Carr won't have to do everything by himself, as he'll have one of the top backfields and offensive line units in the country in the huddle with him. The schedule doesn't help this fact, as Carr's first two starts will be against ranked opponents in Miami and Texas A&M. We might not see great statistical lines from him early, but they'll eventually come.
The multi-year starter is what this program needs
As noted above, there hasn't been a multi-year starter at quarterback for Notre Dame since Ian Book, and that turned out pretty well for the Blue and Gold. His final year, the Irish would make the College Football Playoff, and while they did lose to Alabama, it justified having a guy who has been through the trails of an Irish season. Leonard was the exception, as he was already a top-level player, but the rest had solid careers, just not nearly what we saw last year. The potential for Carr to be the starter for this year and next could pay off big dividends for Notre Dame.
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