Marcus Freeman Drops Surprising Praise for CJ Carr—What It Means for Notre Dame vs. Miami Showdown

After a rollercoaster run that landed Notre Dame in the national title game, you might expect a bit of post-championship hangover in 2025. But Marcus Freeman isn’t having any of that talk. He’s banking on a quick rebound, pushing his Fighting Irish squad back to the summit right out of the gate. The rub? It all hinges on a somewhat untested, yet tremendously promising, quarterback — CJ Carr. With Riley Leonard’s steady hand now a memory, the spotlight shifts to this redshirt freshman who’s not just about arm strength but a steel-trap mind and some swagger that Freeman praises as “maybe a bit overconfident.” Is that the secret sauce to handling a pressure cooker opener against a top-10 Miami squad itching to prove themselves? The stakes couldn’t be higher, and all eyes will be on Carr as he taps into every ounce of preparation and confidence to keep Notre Dame’s aspirations alive. Can a freshman QB carry the weight of such lofty expectations? Only Sunday night will tell. LEARN MORE.

Coming off of a national title game appearance, it would only be natural for Notre Dame football to have a bit of a letdown in 2025. However, Marcus Freeman and company are hoping that isn’t the case and that the Fighting Irish will be right back at the top of the sport again this fall.

Of course, the biggest variable in that chase is going to be the quarterback. Riley Leonard gave Notre Dame very reliable and consistent quarterback play in 2024 after transferring in from Duke, and now it’s CJ Carr’s turn to take over.

Before Carr’s first start on Sunday night in the season opener against Miami, Freeman hyped up his quarterback and stated why he believes the redshirt freshman is fit for the job, via Alex Byington of On3 Sports.

“He’s as intelligent of a football player as you’ll be around,” Freeman said. “He works extremely hard in his preparation. He is a guy that just studies the game endlessly to find a way to improve. And this isn’t saying he’s different than other guys.

“But when talking about CJ Carr, he’s a guy that’s very confident – at some points maybe a little bit overconfident – but you want that in your quarterback. You want the quarterback to say: ‘I want the ball in my every play, when the game is on the line, and I believe I’m going to make the right decision.’ So he has a lot of those intangibles outside of the physical skill set that many people see that you want your quarterback to have.”

Carr will have to have all of those things on display on Sunday night in a top 10 matchup against a very talented Miami team that is coming into 2025 with very high expectations. The Hurricanes are coming into the year ranked No. 10 in the nation, so Notre Dame has no time to ease into the season.

While Miami’s offense gets a lot of the attention led by new transfer quarterback Carson Beck, Carr and the Fighting Irish offense will have to figure out an improved defense in order to keep pace with the Hurricanes. Of course, the freshman signal caller will lean heavily on superstar running back Jeremiyah Love, but whether he is ready to make plays on passing downs will go a long way toward determining who wins this Week 1 clash.

Carr beat out Kenny Minchey for the starting quarterback job in fall camp, so Freeman is clearly confident in his ability. Now, it’s time to show it off to the world while repping one of the biggest brands in college football.

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