What was once a 3-man fight came down to 2, and now has a winner. Marcus Freeman has picked CJ Carr as his QB1. We all know what this all looks like; Carr is good, but he’s not getting the overwhelming stamp of approval from the community. “I’m surprised,” CBS Sports’ Chip Patterson said about Freeman’s choice. Coming back to finish what the Fighting Irish started last year, was Carr really the best bet Freeman could make? One expert says there might be an alternate agenda in play here.

Fall camp brought a major twist in the QB1 race at Notre Dame. CJ Carr started on a remarkable note, throwing 3 interceptions. Competitor QB Kenny Minchey, on the other hand, emerged as a better option. “To all of a sudden have a position where Kenny [Minchey] is making a run at it, the other side of that is that CJ Carr just hadn’t done enough to really grab hold of this job,” Paterson added. Carr is practically inexperienced at South Bend, having appeared in just one game. And with that lack of experience, the QB will be replacing the veteran Riley Leonard.

Favoring Carr despite his fallacies in the offseason has created doubts about the success of Notre Dame football. The QB is a better-rated high-school recruit than Minchey, with 2,754 yards and 24TDs in the bag from his senior year. However, they might not be the only factor that led Marcus Freeman to consider Carr. “It had a little bit of a feel to it like, ‘We really need CJ Carr to be the starting quarterback because if we name Minchey the starting quarterback and we name him too soon, maybe CJ Carr leaves in this portal era, this NIL era,’” Chris Fallica said in an August 21 episode of Fox Sports’ Bear Bets.

There’s already precedent for that at Notre Dame, courtesy of Steve Angeli. “Steve Angeli, who came into the playoff game in a tough spot against Georgia and performed really well. He’s a starter at Syracuse now, right? Like whenever we had to see him, he was impressive,” Bruce Feldman added to Fallica’s point. Fall camp showcases from Minchey made it seem like he could very well beat out the legacy recruit. Minchey was not far behind in the recruitment standings as well. 247Sports ranked Carr as the 5th best in the position, while Minchey was placed at No. 12.

CJ Carr’s fall camp theatrics have not been very convincing. He tends to get aggressive, making him turnover-prone. He’s now a leader of a squad that wants to have a second go at the Natty, and he’s expected to match up to Leonard’s production. Will the QB’s young shoulders be able to carry it all?

Notre Dame cannot afford CJ Carr being a bust

Notre Dame has one of the most lethal offenses in the game right now. With faces like Jeremiyah Love in that squad, CJ Carr is getting everything he could want from an offense. However, the onus is now on him to be at par. And this is, unfortunately, the biggest question mark that’s strengthening the will-he-won’t-he debate around CJ Carr. J.D. PicKell sounded an alarm for Notre Dame fans because of his unproven ability.

“This roster is far too talented to not be good enough at quarterback when it comes to what they’re going to be the rest of 2025. This is a national-title-caliber roster,” he said on The Hard Count podcast. “If you don’t have it 110 percent right at quarterback, I don’t think you’re in a position, if you’re Marcus Freeman and that staff in South Bend, to just sit on your hands and say, ‘Let’s see how this thing goes,’” he added. Carr’s big test will come right at the beginning of the season, against a buzzing Miami Hurricanes squad. That’s going to be a swing game and a weighted game for both teams when it comes to the playoffs.

Marcus Freeman has quickly grown into a reputable head coach in college football. He came close to creating history for Notre Dame in 2024, and that was with a team that was littered with injuries. But Riley Leonard was a key part of everything that led the Irish to that peak, and now CJ Carr has to help recreate that. Will Freeman’s gamble on Notre Dame’s future stand to risk the odds of the present?