Fresh off a 56-13 blowout of Arkansas on Sept. 27, Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman repeated the same word about his quarterback, C.J. Carr, over and over during Monday’s press conference.
“To be — this is his fifth game coming up. To be where he’s at, it’s rare. It’s rare to be a second-year college football player playing in your fifth game and performing at a level he’s performing at. It’s rare, but I think CJ Carr is rare,” Freeman told reporters on Monday.
The Irish’s four-star 2023 recruit out of Saline, Michigan, red-shirted in 2024, and he’s now taking the field by storm. Carr had a breakout game in Fayetteville with 22-30 passing for 354 yards and four touchdowns, versus no interceptions.
He leaped into the Irish record book along the way — a big achievement for any quarterback in the program’s storied history. Carr became the second freshman quarterback ever to throw four touchdowns in a game. The first was a highly-touted recruit named Ron Powlus in 1994.
Marcus Freeman: ‘He’s Got Great Talent’
Besides matching Powlus, Carr also posted the third-best passing yard total for a first half in school history with 294 yards. He also threw the second-most touchdown passes in a game in school history.
“He’s got great talent. He’s blessed with great talent. He has this unique trait that very few people have that he is a — I said this after the game — a competitive, selfless individual. It’s not about CJ Carr. He’s not so competitive that I want to be able to throw for this amount,” Freeman said.
“It’s like whatever we’ve got to do to win, if I’ve got to motivate, if I’ve got to put my head down and run, if I’ve got to throw the ball, whatever it takes to win, he has that trait. He hates to lose,” Freeman added.
Carr has completed 68.3% of his passes for 1,091 yards and nine touchdowns, versus two interceptions. He notably faced two top-1o teams in his first two starts — No. 3 Miami and No. 6 Texas A&M — and the Irish only lost both games on last-second scores.
C.J. Carr Could Become a Heisman Trophy Contender
Carr could be a Heisman Trophy contender, depending on how his season progresses. He ranks second behind UCS’s Jayden Maiava for total quarterback rating. Carr has 88.4 and Maiava has 93.4.
Carr’s biggest challenge might be competition. Notre Dame no longer has any ranked opponents left on the schedule at the moment, which could hurt in the Heisman race.
That includes the Irish’s upcoming opponent, Boise State (3-1). The Broncos were a playoff team last year, but they have fallen off this year after a season-opening 34-7 loss at South Florida.
Freeman knows Carr will be ready and not overlook the Broncos, which give up 24.8 points and 185 passing yards per game. The Broncos have a three-game winning streak and have piled on points as of late, with at least 47 points in every game.
He’s mature in the way he prepares. Now, that could come from dad. That could come from — maybe it’s mom. Mom’s dad was — he was a coach and grandfather was a coach. But he prepares in a way that is really leading to improvement and really good results on Saturdays.”
Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman Chooses 1 Word to Describe C.J. Carr