Marcus Freeman and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish are coming off a strong season — one that saw them come just a game shy of winning the National Championship. But their inability to stretch the field in the passing game ultimately wasn’t enough to get past Ohio State.
With Riley Leonard off to the 2025 NFL Draft, the Irish are now turning to a new face under center: first-year starter CJ Carr.
There’s still plenty of mystery around what Carr will bring to the table, but he’s already generating buzz. The Athletic just released its “College Football 2025 Quarterback Tiers: Ranking the FBS’ projected starters from 1 to 136,” and Carr landed in a surprisingly strong spot.
Writers Sam Khan Jr. and Antonio Morales were clearly bullish on the freshman, ranking Carr No. 49 overall and placing him in Tier 4 among all projected FBS starters. But the biggest surprise wasn’t just the ranking itself — it was who he came in ahead of.
Carr was slotted ahead of some major names, including Michigan’s Bryce Underwood, the No. 1 overall recruit in last year’s class, as well as Colorado’s Kaiton Salters and USC’s Jayden Maiava. Beating out Underwood, in particular, speaks volumes about how highly some view Carr’s potential.
It’s rare for a first-year starter to eclipse a top recruit like Underwood on a national ranking before even taking a snap in college football, and it sets the stage for Carr to be one of the most watched quarterbacks heading into 2025.
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“Carr emerged as the leader in the QB competition coming out of spring practice,” The Athletic wrote. “He took only four snaps last season and didn’t attempt a pass as he recovered from an injury to his throwing elbow suffered during preseason camp. But in the Blue-Gold game, the former Elite 11 QB showed touch and accuracy on downfield throws and a good feel for the offense.”
Carr wasn’t the highest-rated quarterback in the 2024 class, but he definitely caught people’s attention.
Coming from Saline High School, he was a four-star recruit ranked No. 45 and sixth among quarterbacks by 247Sports. In his final season, he threw for 2,754 yards with 24 touchdowns and nine interceptions, completing just over 68 percent of his passes.
Now comes the real test. Carr has the keys to the offense, and the expectations that come with playing quarterback at Notre Dame. If he’s the real deal, the Irish stay in the playoff hunt.
If not, it could raise even more questions about where Marcus Freeman is taking the program.