Who is Notre Dame QB CJ Carr? Meet the frontrunner to start for Irish as Steve Angeli enters transfer portal

Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr is expected to win the starting quarterback job and enter 2025 as one of the faces of the storied Fighting Irish program. Top contender Steve Angeli entered the transfer portal on Thursday, leaving Carr as the favorite over Kenny Minchey to capture the job. 

Carr did not throw any passes during a redshirt season in 2024 but came to Notre Dame as a heralded recruit. The Saline, Michigan, native ranked as the No. 45 player and No. 6 quarterback in the 2024 Top247 rankings, making him the program’s top quarterback recruit since Brandon Wimbush in 2015. 

The quarterback battle with the sophomore Minchey will continue into the fall as the team tries to build on a run to the national championship game last season. Now in the driver’s seat after an impressive spring, here’s what you need to know about Carr. 

Legendary roots

If the name “Carr” sounds familiar, it should. The redshirt freshman is the grandson of Hall of Fame Michigan coach Lloyd Carr, who led the Wolverines to the 1997 AP national championship. The elder Carr posted a career 122-40 record with Michigan from 1995-2007, including five wins in six years over Ohio State to start his career. 

Naturally, Carr was recruited by former Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh among other significant offers in the Class of 2024. However, he quickly locked in on Marcus Freeman’s program in June 2022 and never wavered before signing with the Fighting Irish nearly 18 months later. Michigan ultimately turned to four-star Jadyn Davis. 

Notre Dame QB Steve Angeli expected to enter transfer portal after competing for starting job during spring

Shehan Jeyarajah

Impressive recruit

Carr emerged early in his high school career as a notable prospect, especially after earning all-state honors in his first year starting as a sophomore. That year, he threw for 28 touchdowns to only four interceptions, a streak of taking care of the ball that continued throughout his heralded high school career. Overall, he completed 67% of his passes for 78 touchdowns and 18 interceptions. 

“Very cerebral player who studies the game and thinks the game,” 247Sports national recruiting analyst Allen Trieu wrote of Carr in 2022. “His processing speed should only get faster. Has good, classic passing mechanics and accuracy… very safe projection as a college starter based on maturity, approach and skillset.” 

Traditional passer

Notre Dame started dual-threat quarterback Riley Leonard last season, and the former Duke signal-caller exploded for 906 yards and 17 touchdowns during a national title game run. Don’t expect that to be replicated if Carr is the first quarterback out with the team. While Carr has decent athleticism, his 6-foot-3, 209-pound frame is best suited to function from the pocket. 

The Irish appear to be moving away from the dual-threat passers that have often showed up in the past few years, like Leonard, Ian Book and Tyler Buchner. Carr and Angeli — the two favorites for the job — are both traditional pocket passers. Minchey also primarily works from the pocket, though he has more athletic tools and was compared to Sam Ehlinger during the recruiting process. 

Carr will provide substantially more passing upside than a banged up Leonard delivered last year, but Notre Dame has to be ready to grow their receivers into the role. Former blue-chip Jaden Greathouse has flashed impressive upside, and the program added transfers Malachi Fields (Virginia) and Will Pauling (Wisconsin). 

Ready to go

There was optimism that Freeman had the goods to build a championship-level roster at Notre Dame, but last season officially cemented that answer. The Irish went all the way to the national title game and had real punches to throw against Ohio State. Most impressive, the heart of the defense and offensive line are both back. Four of the top 50 players in America play for the roster, according to Blake Brockermeyer, including No. 5 running back Jeremiyah Love. 

All that to say, Notre Dame could have opted to lean on Angeli’s veteran experience in a pivotal 2025 season. Angeli is a known commodity and should be a solid starting quarterback wherever he transfers next. However, Carr showed enough as a redshirt freshman to take over the offense. That should make Notre Dame fans very excited heading into 2025. 

In the spring game, Carr completed 14-of-19 passes for 170 yards, two touchdowns and one interception to lead the team. Angeli hit 8-of-11 passes for 108 yards and a touchdown, but Carr’s explosion stood out.