Considering how much hype has surrounded Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr, his spot in On3's Top 100 players for the 2026 ranking can only be described as a bizarre snub. Had Carr garnered the No. 85 ranking he did this spring, even last year, there would have been plenty of Fighting Irish fans wondering what Clark Brooks has against the squad from South Bend.
Brooks does explain at least a little bit why this ranking has Carr, who many believe is the odds-on favorite for the Heisman Trophy, almost fall entirely out of the Top 100 players.
"CJ Carr is a divisive passer entering this fall. Some are already convinced he’s a first-round lock," Brooks wrote. "Others openly bemoan his offerings and question his true impact. At the very least, he offers Notre Dame a steady hand that can find targets in structure and play hot potato. Following the QB Impact Study, both his ANY/A (9.6) and Accuracy% (64.1) were top five among Power Four participants in pure dropback situations."
It's not clear who exactly has been remotely serious in "openly bemoaning his offerings or question his true impact." Those people don't seem to be among the top analysts in college football, as that take hasn't been heard all that often. In fact, that scouting report seems to completely misunderstand the Notre Dame quarterback's first season as a starter. He happened to be a true freshman in the season Brooks believes people were unconvinced by.
CJ Carr gives Notre Dame football every reason to turn On3 disrespect into fuel
Carr finished 2025 completing 66.6% of his passes for 2,741 yards, to go along with 24 touchdowns and just 6 interceptions. It's also worth noting that after throwing an interception in each of the first two games of his college career, he threw only 4 more the rest of the season.
Carr's No. 85 ranking is even more eyebrow-raising considering the quarterbacks who Brooks believes are better than the Notre Dame signal-caller:
- Dante Moore – Oregon (2)
- Sam Leavitt – LSU (8)
- Julian Sayin – Ohio State (9)
- Arch Manning – Texas (10)
- LaNorris Sellers – South Carolina (22)
- Jayden Maiava – USC (31)
- Darian Mensah – Miami (44)
- Trinidad Chambliss – Ole Miss (45)
- Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele – Cal (66)
It's hard to fathom that any analyst believes CJ Carr is just the 10th-best quarterback in college football. The Notre Dame star had better seasons than several QBs on this list, and even the ones who performed arguably better did so without the benefit and the burden of having a running game that included two first-round draft picks at running back.
Easily the strangest player on this list, ranked so much higher than Carr, is South Carolina's Sellers. Not only did he throw for fewer yards, but he also had fewer touchdowns (13) and more interceptions (8), and his completion percentage was worse as a third-year sophomore.
If there is a bright side to CJ Carr getting disrespected in this way, it's that it might give him and his Notre Dame teammates yet another reason to want to go out there and demolish everyone they run across in 2026.
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