Now that the Notre Dame football team has its starting quarterback for the 2025 season, it's officially time to start worrying about how CJ Carr will perform. After all, the redshirt freshman quarterback didn't see much action in 2024 because of Riley Leonard being the starter and Carr suffering injuries that sapped him of the ability even to practice, let alone get into games at all.
However, while some Fighting Irish fans might be rightfully nervous about what to expect from Carr heading into the fall, one analyst, Greg McElroy, thinks the upside is far bigger than the possible downside. He believes that while there will undoubtedly be growing pains, Carr will end up being a massive asset for Marcus Freeman and Co.
Greg McElroy explains why Carr changes the Notre Dame football offense
"This is great news for Notre Dame football fans," McElroy said on ESPN on Tuesday. "This is great because last year, if you look at what Riley Leonard was, he was terrific. He did everything you could have asked for from the quarterback spot. But, essentially, he was a game manager. Now you have a quarterback in CJ Carr who can quite literally take the game over with his arm. He is really, really talented."
McElroy did make it clear that while Carr has talent and the analyst thinks he'll be great, there will be issues every now and then.
"With that talent comes inexperience,” McElroy added. “And there was some buzz throughout camp that he was making some poor decisions that led to some interceptions. And Marcus Freeman, being a defensive head coach, knows that’s not the way you’re going to win games. Not at the highest level of the sport."
The hope is that now that CJ Carr doesn't have to worry about winning the starting quarterback job, he can focus on winning ball games. That starts in about 10 days when the Notre Dame football team opens in a biggie, against the Miami Hurricanes.